Blooming Kingdom
by TheCartoonFanatic01
Summary: When a rogue organization threatens the safety of the kingdom, the Sakurada siblings must rely on their abilities to protect their beloved home. Meanwhile, a shocking secret is revealed... Akane/Karen, Shuu/Hana, Shuu/Kanade, Haruka/Ange, other shippings featured! R&R!
1. Prologue & Preparations

**A/N:** Hey, everyone! Welcome to my first "Castle Town Dandelion" fanfic, and probably the third such fic on this site! (Wow, this anime is so underrated.) I managed to find this anime while looking up catchy anime OP videos on YouTube. I somehow found the OP video for "Castle Town Dandelion", got intrigued by the characters I was seeing, decided to look it up, got even more hooked, surfed through Tumblr photos of it, and finally decided to watch it.

Like I said earlier, this anime is underrated. In fact, I would say it is one of the most underrated anime of 2015. I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed the family's antics and the slice-of-life atmosphere. I'm not afraid to admit that I'd _love_ to be a member of the Sakurada family, since my real family sucks butt, lol.

Then, after finishing the anime, I searched around and eventually found a website where I could read the manga translated and receive updates on it. I must say, I'm very glad Ayumu Kasuga is still writing it and continuing its story where the anime practically left off. It's a shame updates are only coming in irregularly. I could use some more Sakurada goodness.

Anyway, after months of boredom and suffering from writer's block, I decided to pull myself out of the gutter by writing this. Like the anime, it will have a simple story, nothing too epic or deep, and it will be around 10-15 chapters, probably even less. This fic is more or less a means to get back my writing mojo, since I don't expect it to have a lot of reader traffic anyway, and therefore I don't have to work myself up trying to gauge the readers' expectations.

Okay, I'm beginning to ramble. On with the story. ENJOY!

 **Disclaimer:** "Castle Town Dandelion" DOES NOT belong to me in any way! All rights of ownership go to Ayumu Kasuga and Houbunsha.

* * *

 **BLOOMING KINGDOM**

 _Long ago, a select few were granted astounding powers, secrets that were passed down from the stars. These people, who could even make miracles become reality, were feared and revered by the rabble, and henceforth became known as royalty._

 _One line of royalty stood out from the rest: the Waldfogel, whose members possessed two unique abilities instead of one. They ruled over their country with kindness, and ushered in a golden era of peace and prosperity. It was a time of happiness._

 _But then, all of that changed._

 _The fourth and youngest child of the Waldfogel family, Gregor Klaus, was a greedy, ruthless, and ambitious man who sought to claim the throne for himself, no matter what the cost. As a result, he slaughtered every last member of his family, any potential heir who could challenge and defeat him. Gregor then inherited the throne unopposed and ruled over his family's country with an iron fist._

 _But the crown alone was not enough to satiate Waldfogel's lust for power. He next intended to subjugate all of the other kingdoms and wipe out all traces of royalty so they would not pose a threat towards his reign. And so, he began a destructive campaign of conquest and genocide, taking over one country after another and killing anyone he deemed a threat. At first, it seemed as if Gregor Waldfogel's mad dream of becoming emperor would become a reality._

 _But then, a wondrous miracle occurred, in the form of a multinational alliance led by the Sakurada and Rose kingdoms. Together, they resisted against Waldfogel's forces and eventually triumphed. In a fierce battle between lines of royalty, the mad emperor-to-be was put into a deep sleep and imprisoned in the Sakurada kingdom._

 _In the wake of the war, all of the countries conquered by Waldfogel were divided among the victors, while the once-flourishing Waldfogel kingdom became a territory under the jurisdiction of the Rose kingdom. Though peace had fallen upon the land once again, the people of the fallen Waldfogel kingdom lived in squalor, and the reputation of the area was reduced to that of a third-rate country. With the Waldfogel family legacy now in tatters, many wonder whether the now-disgraced country would majestically rise from the ashes and reclaim its title of prosperity._

 _Perhaps time will tell..._

* * *

 **Prologue**

"Akane Sakurada. That little twit."

Jiro Nakamura guided the journalist into his apartment, which was the living definition of a pigsty. Beer cans, wrinkled newspapers, cigarette butts, and an assortment of other trash was lying about; the walls were faded and peeling, exposing the wooden boards within; a small but foul stench was in the air; and more than a couple of flies were buzzing around. The journalist flinched when one such fly flew in front of his face, and he swatted a few times at the air to ward the pesky insect away.

"Oi, Isao!" called Jiro. "Remember Akane-sama?!"

"Eh?" moaned the stout, grubby man slouched over lazily on the torn sofa, trying to watch the small, rundown television set. "Oh, yeah... That redheaded princess." He scoffed and spat somewhere on the floor. "Bratty little pipsqueak tried to kill us." He looked up at Jiro and the reporter. "Why? What about it?"

"Apparently this guy wants to interview us 'bout that day." Jiro pointed over his shoulder. "He's some reporter."

"Well, ya not gettin' anything from me." Isao buried his face in the sofa pillow and spoke into it. "I'd rather not think 'bout that day..."

"Yeah," replied the journalist. "So, you two were in the process of committing a burglary when she came in? Akane-sama?"

"Yep," Jiro replied. "And we coulda gotten away with the goods too, if it hadn't been for the little brat." Then, he shrugged dismissively. "But we've repented."

"Repented, you say?"

"Ya know, changed our ways." He approached a nearby chair and collapsed on it with a grunt of relief and relaxation. "We're not into the criminal business anymore. We've paid our debt. We're regular, hardworking citizens." He gestured around the room. "We've got jobs-"

"Five in the last month for me," interrupted Isao, "nine for him."

Jiro's eyelid twitched, but he continued professionally, "We're living steadily in this apartment-"

"Which is complete and utter crap, as you can see."

Jiro's eyelid twitched again. "And we have no complaints 'bout our lifestyle."

"Yeah, aside from the fact that we're two slouches who can barely keep a job, live in a crap-sack apartment, are behind with all of our payments, thrive on fast-food, and have not gotten laid, then yes, I'd say we're living the life. Living the flippin' life indeed."

Jiro's eyelid twitched yet again, and this time, he had nothing to say. The journalist merely nodded in satisfaction, procured a small notepad and a black pen, and began scribbling something on the paper.

"Next question," the journalist said after a couple of seconds. "Could you describe the objects you found in the house?"

Jiro blinked. "Say what now?"

"I mean, you tore the place inside-out, so surely you saw a whole variety of personal belongings. Could you describe any of them that stuck out to you? I intend to put that detail in. To spice up the flavor of the story." The journalist rested his palm on the notepad, prepared to write something. "Just anything that comes to mind."

"Man, that burglary was, like, ten years ago. Ya _really_ think I can remember that far ago?"

"Just think. Anything in particular that would stand out?"

Jiro crossed his arms. "Man, if there was something in that house that stood out, I woulda remembered it by now. But to tell ya the truth, when Akane-sama and that friend of hers showed up, I pretty much forgot burglarizin' the place and got focused on keeping those girls quiet."

The journalist blinked. "There was someone with Akane-sama?"

"Yeah. A little girl, 'bout her age. Black hair and blue eyes. Kept whinin' and clingin' on to her like a dog. I think she may have had a crush on her or something. Eh, I don't know. Remember her, Isao? Black-haired girl?"

"Huh?" Isao raised his head from the pillow before sinking it back in. "Oh, yeah... That side-ponytail was somethin'..."

"Huh... That's very interesting..." The journalist wrote something down on the notepad. "So, I take it you're not at all happy with your current lifestyle, huh?"

"Does it freakin' look like we're havin' the time of our lives?!"

Tatsumi blinked before asking, "I see. Anything else you can give me? Anything at all?"

"Other than the fact that the little redheaded brat tried to kill us?" replied Jiro sarcastically. "No, don't think so."

"I see. Alright, well then, I guess that's it."

"Really?" Jiro raised a confused eyebrow. "That's it? No more questions for us?"

"Yeah, that's about it."

"Oh, thank goodness... So, um, what'd ya say your name was again? I don't think I caught it properly..."

"Ah." A sudden glint flashed across the journalist's eyes. "It was Tatsumi Kimura."

"Tatsumi Kimura?" Surprised, Jiro turned away and placed an index finger on his chin in thought. "Me and Isao watch the news a bunch, and I don't think we've heard the name before in any of the channels."

"Ah, good." The journalist suddenly pulled out a suppressed pistol and aimed it at Jiro's temple. "That's kinda the point."

* * *

A few minutes later, Tatsumi Kimura exited the apartment, hiding the pistol inside his coat and wiping his hands with a small handkerchief. He then walked down the rundown corridor of the apartment complex, all the while humming a catchy tune to himself. Behind him, the door to Jiro and Isao's apartment closed, the fresh smell of gunpowder still hanging in the air.

"Looks like we have what we need now," Tatsumi remarked to himself. "Ah, today's a good day..."

* * *

 **Preparations**

 _A week later_

"Oi, Nee-san, Ange, you two better wake up, or you'll miss school."

Inside a certain shared bedroom, the redheaded teenage girl moaned softly at the sound of her younger brother's voice, and turned over onto the other side of her bed. However, her vain attempt at prolonging her sleep was disrupted by the dim rays of sunlight penetrating the bedroom.

"Mm, ten more minutes..." she groaned out in exhaustion.

She heard her brother sighing. "Everyone's awake already, Nee-san," he said. "You'd better move."

"Every..."

At that moment, the girl allowed her eyelids to inch open, slowly revealing her ruby-red pupils. At first, her sight was blurry, and all she could see were abstract shapes. But then, as her eyesight focused itself, she realized she was staring at her bedside clock. Which read...

"7:10?! You've got to be kidding! I'm late!"

The girl leaped out of her bed and ran toward the closet, undressing as she did. In the other bed, a stunningly beautiful teenage girl, with silver hair and blue eyes, sat up and gave a small, almost unnoticeable yawn, covering her mouth as she did so.

"Ak...Akane?..." the second girl asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"You have to hurry, Ange!" cried the redheaded girl as she put on her shirt. "Every morning in this house is a battle!"

"A...battle?..." The silver-haired girl became extremely worried at those words. "As in...fighting?..."

"Yes, Ange, fighting!"

Upon hearing that clarification, the second girl became to sweat at the implication.

"Your family actually battles with each other?!" she exclaimed. Then, she hesitantly added, "Over what?"

"For who manages to get to the bathroom and sink first!"

The girl sweat-dropped. "I fail to see what there is to war over, then..."

The redheaded girl ignored her companion and rushed out of their bedroom. She was now wearing more presentable civilian clothing, and had a light blazer slung over her shoulder. She found the stairs and began walking down them at the quickest pace she could manage.

 _Oh, hello! I'm Akane Sakurada, third daughter of the royal family. Things have changed since that fateful election over a year ago._

 _Aoi-oneechan has moved out of the house and into a university dorm, Shū-chan is studying hard to become the next king, Kanade-chan is focusing all her effort on her medicinal studies, Misaki and Haruka have graduated to high school, Hikari is building a steady idol career, and Teru and Shiori are, well, Teru and Shiori. As for me, well, I haven't changed a lot. You could say I'm a bit more comfortable speaking to other people._

 _I still hate those security cameras, though, but that's another story for another day._

 _After Aoi-oneechan left, we took in Angelica Rose, a princess from a foreign country that's one of Dad's allies, who is studying abroad. Ange is a very nice girl, but she's still getting used to living the lifestyle of an ordinary person like we do. Understandably, she has her quirks. There's also this tension she's got going with Haruka, and it doesn't help that she's in the same class as him. I wonder what that's all about._

 _Anyway, yes, things have changed. But there's one thing that still remains the same with this big family of mine._

"Oi, Hikari, hurry up. Teru can't hold it anymore."

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Akane turned left and passed Haruka and Teru, who were standing in front of the closed bathroom door. Haruka was knocking on the door to get the occupant's attention, while Teru was trembling and desperately clutching his nether regions.

"Aniue, I-I can still hold it..." Teru moaned softly.

The rest of the exchange was unheard to Akane, as she had reached the other bathroom. Upon opening the door, her red eyes widened, and she sighed heavily: Kanade, Shiori, and their father were standing in front of the mirror, while Misaki was protesting against the latter for taking up much of said mirror's space.

 _We're still scrambling for the bathroom and sink._

"Akane! Oh Akane, there you are!"

Akane looked across her shoulder and saw Ange running up to her side, still wearing her sleepwear. There was a panicked expression etched on her face.

"Why did you run from me?!" the silver-haired girl exclaimed in relief.

"Ange?" asked the redheaded girl, surprised by Ange's aura of urgency. "Wh-What is it?"

"A-Aren't you going to put me in my clothes?"

Akane sweat-dropped and thought to herself, _"So_ that's _why you were freaked out?"_

Suddenly, someone scoffed, and both girls looked at Haruka, who seemed to be within earshot. He was wearing a disapproving expression on his face.

"So our little _princess_ needs to have someone put her in her own clothes for her?" he said. "I can't believe I'm hearing this from someone my own _age_..."

"Of course!" exclaimed Ange in outrage. "Such is the way of royalty!"

"Being royalty is more than just relying on others to do tasks for you and being pampered babies-"

Ange's blue eyes widened. "How _dare_ you speak in such a disrespectful and immature manner!"

Haruka shrugged nonchalantly. "What? I'm just saying the truth as I see it."

 _Yes, it seems like an average day under the roof of the Sakuradas._

"Now, now, guys," Akane said, stepping between both teenagers and waving her hands in a peacemaking gesture, "let's not fight..."

After giving Haruka an angry glare, Ange held her chin up high and marched away...into the closed door at the end of the hallway. The foreign princess blushed in embarrassment before opening the door and slamming it shut behind her. Akane then looked at Haruka.

"I know Ange has a very different view on how to live day to day," she said, "but you should treat her a little more nicely. She _is_ still learning how to live like us. Like a normal person."

Haruka sighed and looked away. "I know, I know. It's just... I find it very illogical for someone to live that way." He looked towards the doorway that Ange had gone through. "Relying on other people to dress you up and serve quality food and clean up after you... It's just not right. How do you expect to look after yourself if others have been doing that for you for the majority of your life? And she's my age, a point where she's close to adulthood, full of duties and responsibilities..."

Akane's eyes softened in realization. "You're concerned for her well-being. Aren't you?"

Haruka bit his lower lip, the faintest blush creeping up his cheeks. He then turned away and approached the bathroom that Hikari was still occupying, knocking on the door a second time. But his refusal to answer her question only confirmed Akane's suspicions.

 _That's Haruka for you. Hiding his emotions and motivations behind numbers and logic. But no matter what his words are, he truly cares for others._

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Misaki had been listening in on the conversation, an unknown expression on her face.

* * *

Moments later, a sudden loud squeal erupted inside the house.

"AKANE!" Ange called.

"Ange!" Akane called back in response. "Are you okay?! What's happened?!"

"Y-Yo-You still haven't changed me..."

"...Do I really need to?..."

"Mm-hm..."

"I can't believe I'm still hearing about this..." replied Haruka, sighing in disappointment.

 _Yes, it does seem like an average day under the roof of the Sakuradas. But l_ _ittle did I know that today would be one of the most memorable days of my entire life._

* * *

Shigeo Suzuki sat in the passenger seat of the gray van, examining an old photo of two unknown teenagers. He then stuffed the photo back into his pocket, picked up a pair of binoculars, and used them to observe the nearby Sakurada household. He grinned as he focused on the upper balcony, where he caught a certain redheaded girl trying her best to hang some white-colored sleepwear.

"And it looks like we've got Akane Sakurada over here," he remarked. "The news doesn't do her justice, I must say."

"Eh, that's because security cameras aren't around," replied the man sitting in the driver's seat. "I'd bet she runs faster than a cheetah when one looks in her general direction." He then sighed and leaned back on his seat. "Man, this is boring! When are we gonna get to the good stuff? I'm itching for some goddamn action!"

"Later, Tomimoto, later. For now, we must observe all of the targets and wait till they all go off their separate ways. Until then, do calm yourself. The boss is not gonna be happy if your boredom's the thing that'll disrupt this whole operation."

"You sure we're gonna get the crown in time, Suzuki?" asked a man sitting at the rear of the van with half a dozen others. "I mean, with that scheduled of ours...if we don't get that crown to the boss soon, who knows what'll happen once he-"

" _Relax_ , Shidehara," interrupted Shigeo. "You heard Kimura's report. Once we find her, we find the crown. All right before lunchtime." He lowered the binoculars and looked over his shoulder at his accomplice. "Speaking of which, how's your otouto doing right now? Is he still in position?"

"Yes, he still has Aoi Sakurada right in his sights," Shidehara replied. "But, um...I really don't see how that's going to help us-"

Suzuki sneered triumphantly. "Trust me, it will. The boss said so."

"But doesn't she have that ability of hers? What if she uses it against us? It'd be game over."

"Not if she uses it against a good friend of hers. With a power like that, and given her goody-two-shoes personality, the chances of such a scenario occurring are close to zero. She doesn't have the guts to do it." Upon seeing his companion's hesitation, Suzuki continued, "Trust me, Shidehara, the boss has it all planned out, to the very last detail. And everything's going _according_ to plan..."

* * *

"I understand. Thank you, and keep up the good work."

Elsewhere, in an office at an unknown location, a man hung up on his cellphone and put it back into his pocket. He then looked out of the window in front of him. This man had piercing hazel eyes and gleaming blond hair that was tied into a ponytail, and he was wearing a red suit. There seemed to be a pompous and intimidating aura surrounding him as he smirked in triumph.

But it was understandable. After all, the call he had just gotten gave him important information that was rather unexpected to him, but just as good as what he had previously wanted. If this information was right (and he knew it would be), then this crossed off one big problem off his list.

 _"Soon,"_ he thought. _"Soon, you will be free, and you will teach this world who its rightful master is...Lord Waldfogel... Soon..."_

* * *

 _Yes, I was unaware it was going to be a very,_ very _memorable day,_ very _soon..._

* * *

 **A/N:** And here we have the first chapter I posted on this site following my brief hiatus from writing. Given this fact, plus the fact that I'm treading in unfamiliar fanfiction territory, I really hope I did "Castle Town Dandelion" justice, because I really did like this anime. Now, it's pretty obvious I'm going to make this a mostly serious story, but I do intend to mix in the anime's usual humor, family dynamic, and character balance, otherwise it will not feel like a "Castle Town Dandelion" fic. Hopefully it'll be a good mixture.

As to where this story's overall plot comes from, believe it or not, it was actually inspired by the twelfth and final episode of the anime, when Shū gives that inspirational speech of his to the kingdom's citizens while piloting the out-of-control blimp. In it, he tells the citizens to rely on the Sakurada family to absolutely protect them long into the future. Being the action-savvy madman I am, I wondered what would happen if the family actually faces a situation where they must protect the kingdom. So, I created this organization and this lead villain that they could square off against. The plot also gave me an opportunity to further expand on several subplots in the anime, i.e. Aoi's insecurity about her true inability, Akane's relationship with Karen, etc.

In the end, I am trying to make this fanfic some sort of follow-up to the anime, but as you can see, I set it after the point where Angelica "Ange" W. Rose moves into the Sakurada home. Other manga-only characters and elements will appear in this fic, because they're pretty interesting and originate from the source material of this wonderful anime, obviously. But some anime elements will stay, such as Misaki being the older twin over Haruka (in contrast to the manga).

And obviously, you can expect a whole lot of shipping to be featured in this fic. Because shipping is very good plot fuel. :D

Please let me know how I'm doing in your reviews, if you can! Criticism is welcome, but not in the form of flaming, please; that honestly doesn't help in pointing out weak areas and convincing me to make improvements. Plus they make Jesus cry. XP

Well, hope you enjoyed this first chapter from me in months! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	2. Calm

**A/N:** Sorry this took a while to get up, everyone. Things got in the way. But I did manage to get this done in due time, so no worries at all! :D

ENJOY!

* * *

 **Calm**

Akane Sakurada looked around the kitchen table, watching as the rest of her family ate their breakfast. Sitting at the head of the table as always was her father Sōichirō, who was reading the _Sakura Times_ newspaper. Beside her were Ange, Teru, Shiori, and her mother Satsuki. Sitting at the opposite side of them were Kanade, Haruka, Misaki, and Hikari. Eating out of his bowl beside Akane's chair was the family's beloved pet cat Borscht. Normally, Shū would be seated at the table as well, but...

"Hahaue, when's Aniue coming back?" Teru asked, addressing Satsuki. "It's been a while since he left for his trial!"

"Well, Shū should have one more week left for his royal studies," Satsuki replied. "Isn't that right, Dad?"

"Hm?" Sōichirō lowered the newspaper, revealing his crowned head. "Oh yes, that's right, honey. One more week and Shū will be back."

Satsuki narrowed her eyes, focusing on the top of her husband's head. "Sō-chan, you brought the crown home again?"

"Y-Ye-Yeah..." The king nervously patted his crown. "I, uh...I thought that I might as well..."

The peach-haired woman sighed heavily. "You're going to make the castle worry again, you know..."

"I'm sorry, Satsuki-san..."

The other children gave deadpan looks at Sōichirō before continuing to eat. After giving his wife a nervous chuckle, Sōichirō resumed reading the newspaper, hoping to avoid eye contact with her, lest he wanted to face more of her wrath. Then, he remembered something, lowered the newspaper again, and glanced at his wife, hoping he could change the topic and therefore get his wife to forget their previous conversation.

"Oh yeah, uh, I heard your dad's message this morning. Seems like he really wants us to come over. Are we gonna go there later today?"

"Yes, of course," Satsuki replied.

Kanade lowered her fork and asked, "You're going to Grandpa's? Why?"

"Oh, they just wanted to see us and talk for a bit." Satsuki chuckled. "You know your grandpa. He gets lonely even with your grandma around but is too proud to admit it to anyone."

"Ah, visiting commoners in a commoners' neighborhood!" exclaimed Ange in wonder. "That sounds absolutely thrilling! Um, Satsuki, would it bother you if I came along as your acquaintance?"

"Uhhhhh...don't you have school to go to?"

"Oh, you do not have to concern yourself about that! After all, you can just educate me later!"

"My parents aren't exactly licensed to homeschool you..." replied Haruka, his eyes closed as he wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin.

Ange glared at him angrily. "Impossible! They're royalty, after all!"

"No, it's just my dad, but I don't think that still gives him the qualification to teach you." Haruka paused briefly, and then looked at Ange in confusion and outrage. "My grandparents don't even know you! And you want to visit them out of the blue?!"

"Well, of course! Such is the way of learning about the way of the commoners!"

"But at the expense of your education?"

"Now, now, that's enough, you two," Satsuki interjected. "Ange, Haruka's right, we can't homeschool you. You have to go to school." The mother of nine smiled. "But I'll be sure to mention you to my parents when we get there."

"But Satsuki-" began Ange.

"We have spoken, Ange," interrupted Sōichirō calmly but sternly, catching the silver-haired girl's attention. "Your father wanted you to learn the lifestyle of commoners. That is why he sent you here. That does not involve abandoning your studies just to visit people you don't even know. Education is extremely important, even to people of a lesser status than royalty. And not every parent can homeschool their children, or hire a private tutor. Yes, we could bear the responsibility of homeschooling you, as we are royalty indeed, but the ordinary citizens go to school and if you want to have the most insightful experience of a commoner's life, then you must do the same. Do you understand that, Ange?"

Ange blinked, then bowed her head in humility. "Yes, I understand..."

Then, Sōichirō grinned toothily at her. "But don't worry. When we have the time, we can take the whole family to visit them. And that includes you."

The girl looked up, surprised at the king's words. "Me? Y-You consider me...your _family_?"

"Why, of course!" Satsuki replied. "You're living under the same roof as us, we're taking care of you, and you're taking care of us."

"Yeah!" exclaimed Hikari. "What else would you call that, but family?!"

Ange's jaw fell upon slightly, for she had never experienced such kindness before. Not even her own family was this positive and receptive towards her, maybe with the exception of her brother Alvin, but he always had something to attend to and barely had time for her. In response, the foreign princess bowed her head again at the Sakurada family.

"Th-Thank you for accepting me, everyone," she let out quickly.

Akane chuckled and patted the princess in the back. "Oh, don't worry about it, Ange," the redheaded girl replied. "Anyone under our care is considered family, no matter who it is."

"And if you ever need anything, you can just rely on us, Ange!" Hikari added, puffing her chest out proudly.

"All you have to do is just ask," added Kanade; the young woman pretended to be solely focused on her breakfast as she spoke, but there was a soft smile on her face.

Ange lifted her head and smiled at each Sakurada family member in turn, a smile that was kindly returned each and every time. But when she focused on Haruka, she noticed him quickly looking away with a sour expression, and she frowned bitterly at him. At that moment, she recalled Akane telling her in the school infirmary about how Haruka tried to save her when she fainted while trapped inside the gym supplies room. Though she was impressed by his determination, she could only regain her low opinion of him when he resumed his insulting and unbecoming remarks.

She could only wonder why Haruka would act that way to her when he truly cared for her well-being...

* * *

 _Akane_

"I'm off, then! Tell Grandma and Grandpa I said hi!"

After finishing putting on her shoes, Akane twirled around and looked at Sōichirō and Satsuki, her ruby-red twin-tails whipping across her hips as she did. Sōichirō was cradling Borscht in his arms and scratching his neck, while Satsuki was wearing her signature apron, and both were beaming and smiling at her.

"Take care," Sōichirō said.

"See you later!" added Satsuki.

Akane grinned, went through the open door, and closed it behind her. She stared out into the street, its features illuminated by the morning sunlight, and took in a slow, deep breath of fresh air. There was simply nothing like experiencing the radiance of a new morning to her.

"Ahhhhh, it's gonna be a good day today," she said.

Outside, at the side of the street, a dandelion was blooming magnificently.

* * *

"AHHHHH, IT'S NOT GONNA BE A GOOD DAY TODAY!"

Akane trembled and cowered behind her dear friend Karen Ayugase as both young women walked down the sidewalk. Walking past and behind them were several other pedestrians, and those who passed by them would cast the humblest greetings towards Akane, which naturally frightened her. It didn't help that every streetlight and storefront was equipped with an advanced security camera that followed Akane's every move.

"Still frightened of the security cameras, Akane?" Karen asked, shaking her head softly in amusement.

"Y-Ye- _Yes_..." stuttered the redheaded, twin-tailed girl.

A soft smile came upon Karen's lips. "You do know that those cameras are there to protect you. If you're ever in any danger, then the people using those cameras will send someone to help you out."

"Or I could just fly away using my ability," Akane replied, looking at her friend with a deadpan expression.

"Yes, that too. But what about your siblings? They can't really fly away."

"Shū-chan can teleport away. Kanade-chan can create something that'll help her. Misaki's got her clones to back her up. Haruka can make counter-strategies. Hikari can make herself or something around her grow and use that to her advantage. Teru's got that crazy strength of his. Shiori can ask something around her to help her out. And don't get me started on Aoi-oneechan!" Akane cast a wary look at the umpteenth security camera the duo passed. "Sometimes I wonder if Dad just doesn't trust us in defending ourselves using our abilities..."

Karen cast a concerned glance at her friend. "Do you remember the time we were kids, and those burglars broke into my house? I'm pretty sure your dad had that in mind when he decided to install the cameras."

"T-Th-That was a long time ago! But I can control my power better now! The only time I've gotta worry is when I have my breakout..." Akane's skin suddenly paled. "W-W-Wh-which c-could be r-r-right now!"

Akane held tight to her clothes, fearing they might rip apart and fly off her skin at any moment. This elicited a small giggle from Karen.

"You've got a good point there." The black-haired girl then glanced at another security camera. "But I'm sure your dad means well. I mean, well...he's your dad, after all. He's just looking out for the well-being of you and all of your siblings. I'm sure my parents would've done the same thing for me..." She chuckled. "Then again, we're not royalty. They'd probably just hire a private investigator to tail me...which would be pretty creepy, actually..."

"Oh yeah, speaking of which..." Akane shook herself out of her frightened stupor and looked at Karen with reluctant curiosity. "How's, uh...How's your mom doing?"

"She's still in the hospital. The doctors say the infection should be gone by now. But you know...that's the third time they've said that..." Karen bit her lip for a second, then gave Akane a cheerful smile. "But it's okay, Akane."

"Are you sure about that, Karen?" asked Akane.

"Yeah. My mom's a strong woman. She's been through a lot, but she's always made it through. She'll make it through this too."

Akane blinked, her gaze softening. She abruptly grabbed her friend's hand, causing Karen to blush brightly in surprise at the sudden action.

"Karen," the redheaded girl said, her voice serious and devoid of any fear, "I know I've said this dozens of times before, and I know you're going to decline the offer, but if you ever need a place to stay or vent or cry at, my family and I are always here to take you in. Okay?"

Karen's eyes widened for the briefest moment, and then, she smiled and gave Akane's hand a light squeeze. Her blush was still present, and more visible as well. Akane noticed this and tilted her head slightly in confusion, but her attention was diverted when Karen gave her response.

"Thank you...Akane..." Karen took her friend's other hand and continued affectionately, "Yes, you've told me that many times before, and yes, I will have to turn down that offer. I'm fine. But I'm so happy that you're still looking out for me, just like you always have. It proves to me that you're a really-" She slightly tightened her grip on Akane's hand. "- _really_ good friend. And I wouldn't have it any other way." Karen smiled happily. "Thank you, Akane."

Akane, touched by Karen's emotional words, replied, "You're welcome, Karen. That's what friends are for, after all."

For some reason, the light in Karen's blue eyes seemed to fade at the response, and a look of disappointment came upon her fair face. But Akane didn't notice, for she remembered something, let go of Karen's hands, and looked at her watch.

"Oh my goodness, we gotta keep moving!" the redheaded girl exclaimed. "You're gonna be late for class if we just stand there!"

"Oh, yeah..." replied an absentminded Karen. "Class. That's right."

Suddenly, Akane grabbed Karen's hand again, surprising the black-haired girl. "Come on! I'll use my ability to fly you there."

"A-Are you sure about that?"

"Of course!" Akane looked up at the air, just as a glowing aura outlined both of their bodies. "At our pace, you'll be late!"

At that moment, both girls shot up into the sky, with spectators watching in awe from below. Akane then directed her flight towards the direction of her and Karen's school. She smiled as she stared straight ahead, relieved that she could at least get out of the watchful eye of those security cameras she loathed so much.

But what the redheaded princess didn't know, was that the gust of air blowing against her was causing her skirt to flutter violently, exposing her underwear to Karen. And Karen was clearly enjoying the view.

* * *

 _Aoi_

Aoi Sakurada stared absentmindedly into the green tea she ordered, watching as its aromatic steam rose from the liquid and dissipated into the air. She then let out a soft yawn, and as she did, she made sure that she covered her mouth with her palm, being the prim and proper princess she was. Once she was done, she resumed her blank, unassuming stare into the green tea.

It had been an extremely busy time for her, even more so in recent days. She had a very important psychology test in a couple of days, and while she excelled in all of her university classes, she still felt she couldn't afford to flunk it. So, she had been studying meticulously for the past week. And then there was her part-time job at the very café she was sitting in. It was always a busy day in that café, and her breaks weren't enough to ease the pressure brought by her workload.

"Aoi!" a voice called. "Oi! Earth to Aoi-san!"

"Hm?" Aoi shook herself out of her stupor and looked at the three young women sitting at the same table as her. Then, after realizing they were waiting for, she smiled in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry, guys. I guess I spaced out there for a moment..."

Shizuru blinked. "Aoi, are you okay?" she asked.

"W-What?" The blue-haired princess stumbled on her words. "O-Of course! Wh-Why wouldn't I be?!"

"You've got bags under your eyes," replied Nanao. "You stayed up late at night to study again, didn't you?"

Aoi immediately sighed. "Yes..."

The brown-haired girl sighed heavily. "Look, Aoi, it's good you're devoted to your studies, it really is. But, uh..." She paused briefly before continuing, "Seriously, look at you! You're practically killing yourself, not getting enough sleep! I'm worried..."

"Oh, you don't have to be worried about me." Aoi made a dismissive wave with her hand. "I told you guys, I'm okay."

"I don't know, Aoi..." Uzuki said meekly. "I think you're working too hard, and I would know..."

"No, I don't think I'm working too hard-"

"Uzuki-chan's your roommate, Aoi," interrupted Shizuru. "And she's been pretty concerned for your..." She examined Aoi. "Physical state."

"And if Uzuki-chan's concerned," Nanao added, "then we're all concerned."

Aoi sighed again. "But my psychology test is a couple of days from now and I have to study."

"Are you passing that class?"

Aoi nodded.

"I'm betting with flying colors. And do you know the material well?"

Aoi nodded again.

"Then I don't see the point of more studying! At least take a well-deserved break and spend it by relaxing! You know, taking in the sights and smells! Check out all the cute boys! Look, there's a group of 'em sitting by that table over there!"

The brown-haired woman pointed towards a table in the next row, situated just a couple of feet away from theirs. Seated there were four handsome men around Aoi's age, laughing loudly and talking about who knows what. Aoi blinked in surprise; they had apparently just arrived, as she didn't notice them at that table earlier.

"Them?" she asked.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Shizuru. "Aren't they just _hot_?"

"Yes, yes, they are..." Uzuki replied, blushing brightly.

"Hey, why don't you use their ability and make them our boyfriends, Aoi?" Nanao suggested. Then, she noticed Aoi's look of revulsion and quickly added, "No, no, no, I'm just joking, not being serious at all!"

Aoi sighed yet again. "Look, um...those guys..." She took a closer look at the four men. "They're cute and all, but I simply don't have the time for a boyfriend-"

"You really don't have time for anything, do you?" Shizuru asked.

At that moment, a waiter, sporting dark eyes and long black hair tied into a ponytail, approached Aoi's table, carrying two trays of food.

"Here you go, Sakurada, Nakahara," he said, handing each tray to Aoi and Nanao. "Your orders. Izumi, Katoaka, your orders are still being prepared, but it should take another couple of minutes."

"Oh, we can wait, Shidehara-san," replied Shizuru.

"Thank you for your service, Shidehara-san!" Uzuki added.

"Ah, it's nothing, girls." The waiter rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "After all, it's just business, right? And I gotta keep it running in this place, after all...for the sake of both my job and my family..." An awkward air suddenly hung over the table for a moment before he continued, "By the way, Sakurada, your break ends in five more minutes, just so you know."

"I am aware," Aoi replied. "Thank you for the reminder, though, Shidehara-san. You're always a big help."

"My pleasure. I mean, anything for the royal family!"

Shidehara bowed quickly before leaving, with the four college students watching him go.

"Shidehara-san's such a hard worker," said Uzuki. "I feel bad for him..."

"Well, he's gotta support his family," Aoi replied. "It's a big one, after all. I can relate to that."

"Ahhhhh..." Nanao playfully nudged Aoi in the elbow with her own. "Maybe _he_ should be your boyfriend, Aoi-san! You two already have a couple of things in common!"

"W-W-Wh-Wha- _What_?!" The blue-haired princess abruptly stood up and waved her hands in denial, catching the attention of the other customers within earshot. "No, no, no, I can't do that! He's a coworker!"

"Ah, so he's just a coworker, huh? And that's stopping you...how?..."

"Nana-chan, quit being a tease! I need to eat, alright?!" Aoi sat back down in her seat, clapped her hands together, and recited, "Itadakimasu!"

* * *

 _Shū & Kanade_

Shū left the massive, intimidating complex of Sakurada Penitentiary and inhaled a deep breath of fresh air. As part of his royal studies, he had to visit certain locations and learn all there is about the kingdom that he lived in, and would one day rule over. The local prison was no exception. He noticed that a majority of the inmates were incarcerated for crimes that occurred before his father implemented the citywide security camera system...and that _every single one of them_ hated his guts, or any guts that belonged to the royal family.

 _"It figures,"_ he thought calmly. _"We're the rulers of this kingdom, the ones responsible for their current state. Of course they'd hate us."_

"Yeah, that's right!" a voice shouted. "Get outta here, _royalty_!"

"You're lucky this stinkin' fence is separating us from you!" yelled another voice. "Otherwise we'd be tearing you apart, limb by limb, right now!"

Shū glanced across his shoulder and saw that a group of inmates had congregated against the nearby fence, staring daggers at him. One of Shū's many bodyguards stepped forward, shielding him from the inmates' point of view.

"Is that a threat against the future king?" he asked. "We can charge you for that, you know."

None of the inmates spoke again, but Shū could hear them angrily muttering and whispering all kinds of indiscernible stuff directed at him. But he wasn't daunted by this show. That one inmate was right, after all. The fence was the only barrier he needed between him and all of them.

"Shū/Shū-chan!" two voices cried simultaneously, and the inmates suddenly started wolf-whistling.

Beads of sweat broke out on Shū's forehead. _"Oh, no! What is_ she _doing here?!"_

"H-Hana? Kanade?" the king-to-be stuttered as his fiancée hugged him tightly while his twin sister approached. "Wh-What're you two doing here?! I thought you had class today?!"

"They all got canceled," replied Kanade. "We thought we'd drop by, check on you..." She then frowned disapprovingly as she watched Hana dig her face into Shū's chest.

"I missed you, you know, Shū-chan," Hana said. "We haven't seen each other in a _long_ while!"

"I missed you too, but uh..." Shū broke the hug and looked at Hana and Kanade seriously. "I don't think you should be here right now..."

Hana tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?"

"Hey, babes!" an inmate called out. "Why don't y'all come over here and lemme see those glitterin' eyes of yours?"

"Oh, I've _always_ been into twin-tails..." another said, sighing in euphoria.

"What _is_ it with you and twin-tails?" a third asked. "Oppai are definitely the best!" He then pointed off to a certain direction. "And look at the set that black-haired chick's rocking! I'd SO love to conquer those mountains...if I manage to get outta here, that is!"

Upon hearing those perverted calls, and more, Hana blushed brightly in embarrassment and refused to make eye contact, while Kanade growled viciously and prepared to create some offensive weapon for retaliation. Realizing Kanade and Hana were getting intimidated, Shū stepped in front of them, shielding the young women from the inmates' point of view.

"You may yell at me and call me names whenever it suits you," he snarled protectively. "As the future ruler who will no doubt stir up controversy at some point during his rule, I do not mind that. But what I _do_ mind is all of you talking to my _fiancée_ and my _sister_ like that. Keep it up and I will see to it that you're all charged for sexual harassment. Do you understand that?"

"Sh-Sh-Shū-chan..." Hana said, looking up at her fiancé in awe and admiration. As for Kanade, she lowered her head slightly, a small smile appearing.

As for the inmates, they all growled angrily in response. One of them, a man with slicked brown hair, a small scar running across his cheek, and a number of tattoos on his arms and neck, stepped forward and looked at Shū in the eye.

"You royalty punks always get the hot chicks," he snarled. "I'll have _you_ know that I won't forget this."

"Go ahead. Don't forget. Can't see what you'd be able to do, anyway, given you're locked up in this prison with all of your buddies."

The inmate's eyes narrowed, but he refused to speak any further. Knowing he won, Shū guided Kanade and Hana away, with his bodyguards still surrounding the trio.

"Don't you guys think it wasn't all that wise to visit me while I was at the prison?" asked Shū. "How'd you guys know where I was, anyway?"

"We asked Kusunoki-san," Kanade replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "and I kept trying to tell _your fiancée_ to wait, but she was having anxiety attacks so I had no choice but to acquiesce to accompanying her here. For her own safety."

"K-K-Ka-Kanade-san, I-I wasn't having an _anxiety attack_!" exclaimed Hana as her blush deepened. "W-W-We-Well, I-I'm having o-one n-now..."

Kanade suddenly twitched at the honorific, but she managed to compose herself. Then, she glanced at Shū and Hana, and sighed sadly as she watched them interact like any other young couple madly in love with one another. Ever since Shū proposed to Hana, the two simply couldn't last an hour without texting or calling each other. At times, Hana would stay over at the Sakurada house and participate in family occasions, like she was already a part of the family. While the rest of the family accepted her without a doubt, Kanade couldn't bring herself to like the fawning girl.

Her disapproval of Hana only increased just a few hours ago, when she got the news from the twin-tailed girl herself.

 _ **"I'm pregnant. It's his."**_

 _"Baka,"_ Kanade thought in outrage. _"What the hell is she doing, screwing around with Shū like that? Aren't they still too young for that sort of thing? Th-They-They're not even married! And she's going around bearing his child?! B-Baka!"_

Then, while still looking at her twin brother and his fiancée, she watched them kiss right in the lips, forcing her to turn her head away in embarrassment.

 _"_ Baka _! Doing..._ that _in public!"_ She blushed as she continued in her mind, _"It's not fair for him, you know,_ Hana _. A child this early is really going to ruin his focus on his becoming a king. But what would you know? You're just a commoner, unaware of the duties and responsibilities of royalty."_ She clenched her fists tightly in anger. _"_ _Shū doesn't deserve you. He doesn't serve someone like you! He can do better than that, land a girl_ way _better than you. He deserves someone who understands what he's going up against! Someone like...like..."_

Her blush brightened considerably, just as Shū suddenly spoke up.

"Oi, Kanade."

"Huh? Huh?!" Kanade looked back at her twin, still blushing. "What, what?! Di-Did Hana tell you?!"

"It's Hana- _oneechan_..." The king-to-be then tilted his head in curiosity. "And tell me what?"

"AGH!" Hana stepped forward, waving her hands frantically. "K-Ka-Kan-Kanade-san, n-n-not now!"

Kanade frowned angrily at Hana, outraged that she couldn't muster the guts to tell the truth to her own brother. Another reason why she disapproved of her. As for Shū, he looked at Hana with a confused look on his plain face.

"Tell me what, Hana?" he asked.

"It's nothing, Shū," Kanade replied, speaking up for the helpless Hana. "It's nothing." She then looked away bitterly. "Forget I said that."

"Okay, okay, but _only_ because you insisted." He then smiled teasingly. "Imouto-chaaaaan..."

To Shū's surprise, he didn't get punched or kicked or even _tased_ in response. It was disturbing, seeing a lack of reaction from her...but also placating, if she wasn't going to react at all.

...

 _"Baka..."_

* * *

 _Misaki, Haruka & Ange_

...

...

...

Awkward silence. Those would be the perfect words to describe the atmosphere as Haruka Sakurada walked alongside his twin sister Misaki and guest Angelica W. Rose. And he could sense it, ever since the three started their trek towards their high school. In fact, he knew the walk would be spent like this, through the nifty calculations that he would always do to start off the school day.

Not that he could do anything about it. He knew his calculations weren't absolute, but he still didn't want to make a scene. After all, one word out of his mouth would elicit an unsatisfactory reaction from Ange, and that in turn would elicit any sort of trouble, which he wanted to avoid.

For some reason, Misaki was being cooperative. Usually one to start a conversation, she was oddly silent this morning. But Haruka didn't mind. The more she cooperated with his calculations, the less trouble he could potentially get into.

"Ah, Misaki-sama, Haruka-sama! Good morning, you two!"

But then again, Haruka's calculations didn't take into account _an outside party_ starting the conversation for them.

"Good morning," Misaki replied, waving at the woman passing by them on the sidewalk.

"Hmmm..." The woman examined Ange and then smiled with approval. "Oh, you're that foreign girl staying with the royal family! It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, the pleasure is mine," Ange replied, bowing her head politely. "I must say, it is an honor to meet a commoner such as yourself."

The woman chuckled jollily in response. "It seems the influence of the Sakuradas is already rubbing off on you, my dear," she said.

Ange blinked in confusion. "Pardon me?"

"I mean, listen to you! You already sound like a princess, a part of the family!"

"But...I _am_ a prin-" Ange was cut off by Misaki, who covered her mouth with her palm.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the pink-haired girl said, "but we must get going! Our school is about to start and we can't be late."

"Oh, that's right! My apologies. Have a good day!"

"You too!"

Misaki waved at the woman as the latter continued her walk. Once she went out of sight, Misaki sighed in relief, removed her hand from Ange's mouth, and continued walking as well, followed by Haruka and Ange, who was now bowing her head in shame.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I got to interact with another commoner... I got carried away..."

"Ah, it's not big deal, Ange," replied Misaki. "We all make mistakes. It was a good thing I was here to cover for you!"

"Yes, and for that, I thank you, Misaki. I promise, I shall try harder next time to refrain myself."

Haruka couldn't help but scoff. Ange, hearing the scornful sound, turned her head towards him with a look of outrage.

"What? Do you really doubt my self-discipline, Haruka?!" she asked.

"Considering your explanation about what happened back there," the purple-haired teenage boy replied, "I'd say yes, yes I _do_ doubt your self-discipline. You should learn to train yourself more at home and not rely on others to do the dirty work for you."

"Are you saying I'm _using_ Misaki to aid me when I am in a dire need?! I appreciate her help but that is absolutely _absurd_! Of course I wouldn't rely on anyone to carry out tasks for me when I can do them on my own!"

"Yes, says the girl who asked Akane to put her in her own _clothes_..."

Ange blushed brightly in embarrassment. "Tha-That's something I'm not particularly trained in yet!"

"But it's a very simple task to do. Are you really so reliant on other people that you'd even need them to put you in your own clothes?"

Ange's frown became even more pronounced. "But we're _royalty_ , Haruka! Commoners both fear _and_ respect us! By employing them in a capacity of servitude, in which they cater to any sort of whim of ours, we demonstrate our power over the masses, and simultaneously show their worth for us."

Haruka blinked in surprise. " _Really_?" he asked incredulously. " _That's_ what you think of commoners? Means of bolstering the power of royalty?! And you wanted to learn _more_ about them?!"

"I am not saying that I see them as degenerates, if that is what you are implying, Haruka! I know they are human! But as royalty, blessed with abilities beyond their comprehension, we are just of a higher class than them. Which is why we have servants that come to our aid whenever we need them."

"So you, a daughter of a high-class royal family, possessing an astounding ability of her own, would rely on those of a lower class to do pretty much everything for her. That...That sounds really contradictory, actually." Haruka scoffed, his lower lip twitching in amusement. "Not to mention rather pathetic-"

"WHAT?!" Ange stomped her foot down on the concrete sidewalk, startling both Haruka and Misaki. "DON'T YOU DARE INSULT ME AND MY WAY OF LIVING, HARUKA SAKURADA! I WILL NOT TOLERATE THAT!"

"THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP TREATING YOURSELF LIKE SOME PAMPERED PUP AND THINK ABOUT WHAT OTHERS WOULD THINK FIRST!"

"Haruka, that's _enough_!" snapped Misaki, stepping between her twin brother and the silver-haired girl. "You're upsetting Ange!" She then glared at Ange. "And Ange, any louder and you will let the whole neighborhood know of your status as royalty!"

Surprised, Ange covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh, I am so sorry, Misaki... I let my anger get the best of me..."

"And _you're_ supposed to hail from a high-class family of royalty?..." Haruka asked dryly, before being smacked in the head by Misaki.

"That. Is. ENOUGH," growled the pink-haired girl. "I can't believe my brother and our guest are actually like a bunch of _children_! JEEZ!"

Misaki stormed off, leaving Haruka and Ange stunned. After looking at each other with scornful looks, Haruka followed his twin sister, with Ange following a few inches behind. As she walked, she couldn't help but stumble in her steps somewhat.

For most of her life, she had been taught how to be like a proper lady, calm, composed, and formal toward others. But this was the first time in her life that she had been this enraged at anyone. It was something that came with interacting with Haruka. His cold and cruel behavior was just unbearable to her, and every word he would say to her always made her blood boil. It sometimes made her fear the prospect of settling into the mannerisms of commoners; she always thought such a lifestyle bred these irksome behaviors within the purple-haired boy.

But then again...if Haruka behaved that way around her, then why did he make the effort to save her? It was a question that bothered her ever since the incident in the gym supply room and she wanted to ask Haruka, but she sensed that it would just devolve into another argument so she chose to postpone it for a more appropriate time... Over and over again... And the question continued to occupy her mind...

Haruka Sakurada truly was a strange boy.

She continued onward after the twins, hoping that she would somehow find the answer she was seeking. In the most comfortable, satisfactory way, of course.

As for Misaki, she could only glare at her companions with jealousy...

* * *

 _Hikari_

 _"LIGHT-SAMA!"_

 _"WE **LOVE** YOU, LIGHT-SAMA!"_

 _"MARRY ME, LIGHT-SAMA!"_

 _Hikari laughed heartily as she stared upon her massive audience and waved at them with her right hand. She happily relished in the cacophony of excited cheering that ensued, and the various colors of the glow-sticks that her fans were waving frantically. She had just concluded the latest in her new string of solo concerts, unsupported by a certain idol friend and inspiration of hers. But things had been going well so far in these concerts, and Hikari didn't think anything would go wrong anytime soon._

 _After all, the public knew who Light Sakuraba was, but despite all that, her fans supported her even more now in her career as an idol._

 _Things were going well._

"Hikari-sama?"

...

"Oi, Hikari-sama!"

...

"Light-sama! Heads up!"

Upon hearing that name, Hikari Sakurada was stirred out of her memory of last weekend's concert, but too late: she collided headfirst into a wooden telephone pole, a mere second later. Her friend Chika gasped out in surprise.

"Hikari-sama!" the girl exclaimed. "Are you okay?!"

"Yep!" replied Hikari in a chipper voice, smiling widely and boldly. "I'm totally okay." She stuck out her tongue playfully and gave the peace sign. "But clumsy me, looks like I bumped into something!"

Chika chuckled at her friend's impression. "Always putting up that idol image every day, huh?"

"Yep! Matsuoka-san tells me that I need to practice my idol mannerisms every single day so I can be at my tiptop shape when I'm onstage!" Hikari sidestepped the wooden pole and joined Chika's side again. "What do you think?"

"Oh, you're a _natural_ , Hikari-sama. And it definitely shows when you're onstage. You know, sometimes I think you were _born_ to be an idol."

Hikari laughed proudly. "Yeah, sometimes I think that too!"

Chika then heaved out a disappointed sigh. "Ahhhhh, if only my parents would let me actually go to your concert... I can only watch you and Sacchan at home." She then pouted and began hopping up and down in utter annoyance. "I can't wait till I graduate from high school! Then I can do whatever the heck I want, eat all the food I want, go to all the idol concerts as I please!"

"Five more years, Chi-chan, five more years," Hikari replied.

"Says you. You've got the ability to make yourself grow as much years as you need! _Lucky_!" Chika then placed her hands on her chest, looking extremely insecure. "And your teenage form already has the biggest knockers ever..."

"Going on about your chest size again? Heh. Like my onii-chan once said, it's not about the size, it's about the sens-"

Hikari's eyes suddenly glowed with emotion, and she waved frantically.

"Ohhhhh, Sacchan!"

The two young girls stopped at the crosswalk, where they saw Sachiko "Sacchan" Yonezawa just stepping onto the sidewalk. She was wearing light clothing for the fall season, which unsurprisingly showed off her matured curves, and had a small purse slung over her shoulder. Obscuring her purple eyes were a large straw hat and a pair of dark sunglasses, which she lowered a couple of inches so she could get a better look at Hikari and Chika.

"Huh?" The black-haired woman looked down at the two girls, almost not recognizing them. Then, she noticed Hikari and her mind clicked. "Oh, you're Light."

"O-Of course, Sacchan!" exclaimed Hikari, crossing her arms proudly and almost arrogantly. "Who else would I be?!"

"Well...this is, uh..." Sacchan examined the blonde girl's body from head to toe. "This is...the first time I've seen you in your true form. Up close and personal, at least..."

"Oh yeah, I forgot I always use my ability whenever I go to the office! Silly me!" Then, Hikari examined Sacchan's body from head to toe as well. "And this must be the first time I've ever seen you _outside_ the office and not performing in your concerts!"

"We-Well, of course. I have a life outside of being an idol, Light." Sacchan then turned her gaze to Chika, as if noticing her for the first time. "And who's your friend?"

Before Hikari could respond, Chika squealed uncontrollably, "Oh my goodness, Sacchan! My name's Chika Ogiwara, and I'm a really, really, _really_ , I mean REALLY big, big fan of yours!" She took Sacchan's hand and shook it almost violently. "You're even prettier in person, you know that! Oh, this is so, so, SO awesome! I mean, I finally get to meet you in person! _The_ great Sachiko Yonezawa, also known as-"

Noticing that Chika was getting louder with each word, Sacchan looked around at her surroundings and then quickly latched her palm over the girl's mouth.

"Not so loud!" she hissed. When Chika nodded and calmed down, Sacchan sighed and retracted her hand. "I'm sorry, it's just...I'm headed for class, and I'd rather not let anyone get wind of who I am today."

"You mean you're not headed for the office?" asked Hikari.

"Like I said, Light, I have a life outside of being an idol. And judging by your school uniform, you do too. So..." Sacchan readjusted her bag and continued walking down her intended route. "I need to get going. I will see you later, Hikari. Keep up the good work, and don't let it interfere with your academics!"

"Y-Yeah! Same with you!"

Hikari waved at Sacchan, and while the older idol had her back faced towards her friendly rival (and therefore didn't see her waving), she knowingly waved back once. Once Sacchan rounded a corner and disappeared, Chika giggled excitedly and looked at Hikari.

" _Lucky_!" she said. "You get to work with Sacchan every other day too!"

"You know," replied Hikari, "I can use my ability to grow you by a few years and have you work with me as an assistant."

Chika's eyes widened incredulously. " _Really_? You'd do that for _me_?"

"Hey, I did it with my onee-chan once. I'm sure it'll work for you too. Although doing this is gonna involve a whole lot of work, Chi-chan. Being an idol is more than just singing and dancing onstage."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Hikari-sama." But Chika seemed to be totally ignorant of the issue. "So, when can we start this thing? Tonight should work for me!"

Hikari merely rolled her eyes and sighed at her friend. Then, as Chika continued to espouse her excitement about being near Sacchan all the time, the blonde girl looked longingly towards the corner that Sacchan rounded. This truly was the first time she had seen her rival outside of work; prior to this, their encounters all occurred in the office. Maybe she should schedule a casual date with Sacchan, find out what she did during her time off...

She blushed excitedly at the prospect of having a date with her friendly rival.

 _"Yeah!"_ she thought. _"That sounds like a pretty good idea!"_

* * *

 _Teru & Shiori_

"Onward, Shiori! We must proceed with our trial!"

Shiori sighed and shook her head subtly as she closely followed her older brother Teru down the sidewalk. Teru may be calling their current endeavor a trial, but all they were doing right now was walking to school. Accompanying them right now was one of Teru's classmates, Jiro Ashida, and his mother Yuki, who were a couple of steps ahead of both siblings. At the side was a row of stores selling a variety of items.

"My, my, Teru-kun!" exclaimed Yuki, smiling warmly. "You say the strangest of things boldly so!"

"Ahhhhh, Mom!" Jiro snapped, the young boy crossing his arms and puffing out his cheeks angrily. "Why do you have to keep saying things like that?! And why'd we have to bring _them_ anyway?! Teru-sama's weird!"

" _Jiro-kun_! Don't say such disrespectful things, especially about your classmate!"

"Onward we go!" Teru continued, apparently oblivious to Jiro's critical remark towards him. "The end of the challenge lies just ahead! And once we reach it, there's no telling what we can do next!"

Both Shiori and Jiro let out a collective sigh of annoyance, while Teru increased his pace and was soon ahead of the others. The group soon reached a crosswalk, but they found that the crossing light was red at the moment and there were cars passing, so they decided to take that time to rest.

 _ **"Oi! You! Any of you! Loud boy! Little girl! Please, please stop!"**_

Shiori stopped in her tracks, surprised at the squeaky voice that suddenly spoke up. Realizing that her ability must have been activated, she looked around for anything that had an aura surrounding it. It didn't take long for her to pinpoint the exact origin of the voice: the front of a flower store situated at the very corner of the sidewalk that the group was standing at. There were several potted flowers and other plants on display right outside the door.

 _ **"Yes, right here! Over here! You see me, little girl?"**_

A sakura bonsai tree glowed fervently, catching Shiori's attention.

 _ **"Hey there, little girl!"**_

 _"Hello, Bonsai-san,"_ greeted Shiori. _"Why did you want to talk to me?"_

 ** _"I needed to warn you! See, you're in terrible danger!"_**

 _"Terrible danger?"_

Shiori's eyes widened, but she was more surprised and befuddled than alarmed by the sakura bonsai tree's warning. She was in terrible danger? And Teru as well? But the day was going well so far. That is, for a normal day as a member of the Sakurada family. There was absolutely nothing to be worried about yet.

 _"What do you mean terrible danger, Bonsai-san?"_ she asked, hoping to seek clarification. _"Do you mean me?"_

 _ **"I mean everyone in general, as far as I'm concerned!"**_ the tree replied. _**"**_ _ **I heard these strange men talking at this very corner,**_ _ **saying how they were going to take over this whole place."**_

Shiori blinked in confusion. _"Take over? Who said that?"_

 ** _"I don't know, but they looked really shady! And-And they also said they were gonna do something at a high school, but I couldn't catch it!"_**

At that point, Shiori's eyes widened again, this time in terror.

 _"The high school?!"_ She gasped and covered her mouth in shock. _"Misaki-oneechan, Haruka-oniichan, and Ange-sama!"_

 ** _"You have to do something, little girl, or bad stuff's gonna go down! And I don't know if it's going to be something that I'll survive through, so please be quick about it! I don't wanna wither and die out!"_**

 _"Don't worry, Bonsai-san! You're not going to wither and die!"_ Shiori scanned the other potted plants at the storefront. _"None of you will! I'll do something!"_

"Oi, Shiori!" Teru called. "We're crossing the street now! Don't lag behind!"

"Wait, hold on, onii-chan! Please don't go! I need to tell you something!"

Bowing quickly at the bonsai, Shiori dashed off after her brother as quickly as she could, who was already midway across the street.

 _ **"Good luck, little girl!"**_ the bonsai called after her.

* * *

Nearby the intersection where Teru and Shiori had crossed, two men sat in a sedan, closely watching the two youngest Sakurada children's movements. The man in the passenger seat, a purple-haired man with red eyes, observed them through a pair of binoculars for a few minutes before lowering them.

"Looks like the little girl got the message," he said.

 **Akira Horigome  
Quartermaster**

"Looks that way," replied the man in the driver's seat, a black-haired man with green eyes. "Now the distraction should be underway."

 **Tatsumi Kimura  
** **Field Communications**

"Alright." Horigome turned his gaze towards Kimura. "Call Kentaro. It's time to blow the lid off this whole kingdom."

Kimura grinned as he produced a walkie-talkie from his pocket. "Got it."

* * *

 **A/N:** Definitely not my best chapter, but hey, I wanted to write segments for all nine siblings, show them in the middle of their everyday lives before the lid is blown off their kingdom, just as Horigome said. Naturally, I'd be rusty in writing some of the siblings compared to others. But hey, I'm proud enough of this final product, and that should be enough for me. Up next is the beginning of the operation against the Sakurada kingdom, so I should be at the top of my game with this one!

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	3. Beginning

**A/N:** Lo and behold, everyone, a new chapter from yours truly! ENJOY!

* * *

 **Beginning**

"WHOO-HOO! Time to blow up some stuff!"

 **Rokuro Kentaro  
** **Explosives Specialist**

Kentaro stepped out of his army-green jeep, produced a pair of binoculars, and used them to focus on the sprawling building complex situated several yards away, by the bottom of the very incline he was standing on. Watching as the last of the occupants went back inside the building in an organized fashion, followed by the guards, the wild-haired man placed the binoculars on the hood of the jeep, took out a cellphone, and began dialing a number.

He waited for the phone to ring thrice. Then...

"Sakurada Pizza. What will your order be for today?"

...

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kentaro replied, sweat-dropping. "Wrong number."

"Oh, it's fine, sir. We get that all the time. But are you sure you still don't want anything, though?"

...

"Well, I _could_ go for a half-veggie, half-pepperoni pizza..."

* * *

The slick-haired, heavily-tattooed Orochi Araki sat in the lower bunk of his bunk-bed, idly observing the dangling legs of his cellmate. It had literally been minutes since he and all of the other inmates were ordered back to their cells, but it felt like hours to him. Not that it surprised him. It was always a boring day, being forced to follow a struct schedule and spending his off-time either by moping around in a cell or wandering around like an idiot in the courtyard. He had to admit, as much as he despised royalty with a passion, the visit of what's-his-name, the king-to-be, was the greatest amount of entertainment he had in a while. But even that couldn't last.

"Gah!" moaned Orochi as he buried his face in his palms. "This is boring as HELL! Prison sucks..."

"Tell me 'bout it," replied the cellmate as he was sprawled across the upper bunk. "It's the same old, same old. All day, _every_ day." The man sighed sadly. "I wish I had my porn stash. It's freakin' hard to get one out around here."

Orochi's eyes narrowed menacingly. "And ya know what pisses me off?"

The cellmate's tone was sarcastic. "Really? Do enlighten me, man..."

"Those royalty brats! There's no doubt in my mind that they can easily get off from what we've been accused of, with just a freakin' slap in the wrist!"

"Well, who are we to judge? They've got OP superpowers and other crap like that! You know Aoi Sakurada? All she has to do is give a simple command and everyone is at her biddin'! Just like that! We can't expect ourselves to just stand up against people like that! There's a reason they're called royalty, you know..."

"Well, I plan on being the first to bring them down!" Orochi stood up from his bunk and raised a determined fist in the air. "I swear on my father, and his father before, that I will avenge their memory!"

"Sounds awesome, man." The cellmate groaned as he sat up. "But...I think you've forgotten the fact that you're locked up in _the most secured prison of this kingdom_! What're you gonna do, control things behind the scenes? Pay people off to do the dirty work for ya? Dude, you can't even hold on to a _penny_ if your life depended on it."

"Yeah?" asked Orochi. "Says who?"

"Says me! You know, you still haven't repaid me for those free extra lunches I've been giving you the past few days."

"They're _free_ , man. What do I have to repay you for?"

The cellmate hopped off his bunk and confronted Orochi, sizing him up. "It took a lot of convincin' and manipulatin' to get those extra lunches! You have any idea what'll happen if I get caught?!"

"So what? What else are they gonna do to you? You're outta here when you're old enough to have grandchildren!"

The cellmate blinked in confusion. "They can make sure I'm outta here when I have _great_ -grandchildren!"

Now it was Orochi's turn to blink in confusion. "What's so great about grandchildren?"

The man merely sighed and hopped back up on the upper bunk. "Never mind, man. Never mind..." He turned his gaze back to Orochi. "My point is, you've got no chance of bringing down those Sakuradas. It's just literally impossible."

Before Orochi could respond, the entire cell block suddenly began to tremble, and the sound of a nearby explosion filled everyone's ears. Then, a cloud of smoke began to billow into the block...

* * *

"Ah, those decorations from last month's get-together are still up."

"Oh, for the love of God, Dad! Did you call us here just to help you clean this up?!"

Sōichirō and Satsuki Sakurada stepped out of the black limousine and examined the Shinonome house exterior. After a couple of seconds, Sōichirō patted the section of the roof directly above the chauffeur.

"We're good here," the king said.

"Okay," the chauffeur replied, nodding obediently. "Call when you need me."

"Will do. Have a good day."

"And to you, Your Highness."

The chauffeur then drove off, with Sōichirō and Satsuki watching the limousine go. As it went, it easily attracted the eyes of any pedestrian, who would then take notice of the royal couple standing outside a commoner's house. Satsuki shook her head at the attention she was getting and looked back towards the house.

"Home sweet home," she said.

"Away from home," added Sōichirō in clarification.

"Of course, right."

Satsuki opened the front gate, allowing herself and Sōichirō to enter the perimeter. Once they did and Satsuki closed the gate behind her with a creak, the front door to the Shinonome house suddenly opened, and out emerged...

"Satsuki, Sōichirō!" greeted Daigorou Shinonome, a short and balding yet intimidating man, while speaking in a voice too loud for comfort. "It's been a while! I am, uh, so pleased that you had the time to come over here!"

"It's only been a month since we last visited, Dad," Satsuki replied, "and _please_ stop talking so loud." She then smiled at a short, heavyset woman who was standing beside Daigorou. "Hi, Mom."

"Oh, my little girl, come here!" exclaimed Chieko, pulling Satsuki in to plant two kisses on her eldest daughter's cheeks. "My goodness, you're still looking so beautiful even though you're raising nine children! A beautiful wife _and_ nine children!" For some reason, she glanced over her shoulder and at the house. "Sōichirō must be one happy man!"

"Of course he is!" Daigorou said, casting a sudden glare at Sōichirō. "Are you, Sōichirō?"

"Of course," replied Sōichirō, smiling. "And if I ever become unhappy, she will make sure I smile at her again, no matter what."

"THEN ALL IS WELL!"

" _Dad_..." Satsuki moaned in exasperation.

Meanwhile, Chieko smiled. "Ahhhhh, it's so good to have the, uh, ahem, _whole family_ together again, even if it's been a month since we last met!"

Satsuki blinked in surprise. "Wait, the whole family? So Hazuki, Kanna, Mutski, and Mina-chan are here too?"

As if on cue, four other people stepped out of the Shinonome house and cried in unison, "Nee-san!"

"Oh, hi guys!" Satsuki replied with a mixture of happiness and surprise, looking at each of her younger siblings in turn. "Wh-What're you guys doing here?"

"Dad called us over," said Mutski.

"All of us, actually," added Kanna. He then looked at Daigorou, crossed his arms, and pursed his lips. "Which I actually thought was pretty weird, since it's only been a month." Then, he looked at Satsuki, who noticed that he was particularly beaming. "But you'll never believe who else is here today!"

"Who?" Satsuki asked in confusion, as Daigorou and Chieko both suddenly paled.

Meanwhile, Hazuki looked back to the house and called, "Come on out, Itoko-san!"

 _"Itoko-san?"_ Sōichirō thought. Then, his eyes widened in realization. _"Oh, no..."_

Satsuki seemed to realize it too, for she inched closer to her husband, her skin paling. The entire family watched as another man stepped outside, smirking deviously. He had an average build and height, close to those of Satsuki, along with chin-length black hair, bright-gray eyes, and fair skin. He was also wearing a mostly black suit with a red undershirt, which gave him the impression of a sleazy businessman from a shady company.

"Ahhh, Satsuki-chan!" greeted the man, holding his arms out wide, as if trying to welcome Satsuki into a loving embrace. However, the royal queen did not reciprocate his warm greeting, instead staring daggers at him, which he noticed. "Alright, so much for a family reunion..."

"What are you doing here, Shigeo?" Sōichirō asked menacingly, stepping in front of Satsuki to protect her. "You know there's a rest-"

"Ah, but my mission's over!" interrupted the man. "I'm free to return home!"

Confused, Sōichirō looked at Daigorou, who whispered, "Apparently, Shigeo knows about the lie you told the kids way back when and is going along with it." The older man glanced at Hazuki, Kanna, Mutski, and Mina, who were all converging upon Shigeo and conversing happily with him. "They, uh... They still don't know the story..."

"They're adults," replied Sōichirō quietly. "It's time they knew the truth about their itoko." He then marched forward towards Shigeo and the Shinonome siblings, and said sternly, "Hazuki, Kanna, Mutski, Mina, I command you to stay away from him. Not as your Onii-san, but as your king."

"What?!" exclaimed Mina. "Why?!"

"Did Shigeo do something wrong, Sōichirō-oniisan?" Mutski asked.

Sōichirō sighed and looked at Hazuki, Kanna, Mutski, and Mina each in turn. He remembered how much they looked up to Shigeo Suzuki like an older brother, so much that he never told them he was imprisoned and subjected to a restraining order. Instead, Sōichirō told them he hired Shigeo as an emissary and sent him to a faraway kingdom for several years. He planned to tell them the truth when they became older, but that priority took a backseat when he started his family.

He knew the news would break them, but he didn't know why Shigeo had suddenly broken the conditions of his restraining order after so long. Anything could happen, so it was better now than never.

"Everyone," the king began, "you see-"

"He lied to you, kids," Shigeo suddenly interjected, catching the attention of the siblings. "As did I, to an extent." Relishing the confused expressions of the siblings for a brief moment, he then continued, "I was never on a diplomatic mission this entire time, kids. I spent the past several years rotting away in jail."

"You were in _jail_?!" Mutski cried. He then took a couple of steps backward in outrage, while the others were completely dumbfounded by the revelation. "For what?!"

Shigeo's gray eyes twinkled as he stared at Satsuki, who glared at him furiously.

"Why don't you ask your onee-san?"

One by one, Hazuki, Kanna, Mutski, and Mina looked at Satsuki, whose look of anger turned into one of shame and embarrassment.

"What's he talking about, Onee-san?" asked Hazuki.

"Do you know why Shigeo-itoko really had to go away for a while?" Mina asked.

As for Sōichirō, he watched his wife as she struggled to answer, and growled. At that moment, he realized Shigeo was trying to force Satsuki to reveal something she never wanted to admit, to her _own siblings_! The very people who she took care of, who looked up to her! The story would hurt them even more than the fact that their cousin was a hated criminal. Sōichirō looked at the well-dressed man in disgust, and Shigeo merely looked back with a triumphant smirk.

"Shigeo is _sick_."

Daigorou stepped in front of Satsuki, shielding her from Shigeo's view. The older man was glaring at his nephew with absolute hatred.

"He became very obsessed with your Onee-chan," he continued. "Sōichirō found out and locked him away for her own safety." Daigorou's eyes narrowed at Shigeo. "But it looks like he hasn't let go of that obsession. It's not like I ever expected him to, though."

Shigeo blinked, and then put on a false expression of emotional pain. "Wow, that...that hurts my feelings so much, Uncle..." he replied.

"Don't you dare call me that" Daigorou roared, startling even Sōichirō. "I said it before, and I'm gonna say it again! I am no longer your uncle! You disgraced this family with your disgusting, _revolting_ feelings for your itoko! You are still not welcome in this house, nor will you ever be!" He then pointed at the gate. "So, I demand you to leave this place, this instant! Or I will have Sōichirō exact the greatest punishment he can muster upon you!"

Undaunted, Shigeo merely scoffed. "Really? What is My Majesty gonna do about it, huh?"

"I can have you exiled from this kingdom," growled Sōichirō. "I can even have you sentenced to death." He approached Shigeo and stared down at him. "You should've spent your life more wisely, Shigeo. I ensured some leniency to your first punishment because I considered you a good friend, a part of my _family_ , and I pitied you. But now, it's clear to me that whatever compassion you had towards me or this family is long gone, and that you are here for your own selfish reasons. So, at the request of Daigorou, I am going to order you, Shigeo Suzuki, to leave this place immediately, or I will have you arrested."

Once again, Shigeo remained undaunted as he stared up at the towering form of Sōichirō. He cracked a bare-toothed sneer.

"You know," he said, "I've _always_ hated looking up at you like this."

"Leave, Shigeo. NOW."

"I'm afraid I can't, _Your Highness_. See, you were wrong on one thing about me: I'm _not_ here for my own selfish reasons. Sure, it was fun getting back together with the family and seeing Satsuki-chan once again. You still look beautiful, babe." At the side, Satsuki shivered in disgust at that offhand remark. "But...I have other plans in store for the day. MEN!"

At that moment, dozen men wearing tactical gear sprung out from various positions and aimed advanced weaponry at Sōichirō, Satsuki, and the entire Shinonome family. Some of them tore off pedestrian disguises; others emerged from nearby trees, shrubbery, and other plant-life; and even more others emerged from neighboring houses, the sewer system, and even the Shinonome house. Sōichirō attempted to press a secret alarm button on his belt, but Shigeo quickly whipped out a taser and fired, sending the king crumpling to ground, convulsing violently.

"Sōichirō!" cried Satsuki, Daigorou, and Chieko simultaneously.

"Onii-san!" cried Hazuki, Kanna, Mutski, and Mina.

Shigeo chuckled in satisfaction and knelt down to examine Sōichirō as his convulsing and twitching began to subside.

"Been waiting 21 years to do that," he remarked. He chuckled again. "Oh, and help isn't gonna come, Your Highness. If I can recall, the weekly updates on the security camera system said there would be updates on the cameras in this area. Which means cameras here are down for today, which means it's up to _actual_ police officers to patrol the area, which means they won't do jack-shit because your cameras are so effective that they've become lazy, donut-eating slobs!"

Sōichirō's eyes widened in shock. This bastard knew about the confidential weekly updates being sent to him?

"You bastard... You _bastard_!"

Shigeo looked up and saw Mutski charging towards him, his fist raised. However, he merely stood up and sidestepped the younger man with great ease. When Mutski turned around to attack again, Shigeo grabbed his arm to stop him in his tracks, curled his unoccupied arm around his stomach, and flipped Mutski over, slamming him down to the ground hard.

"MUTSKI!" Satsuki screamed.

"Haven't you forgotten, Mutski-chan?" asked Shigeo tauntingly, staring down his cousin triumphantly. " _I_ was the one who got you into martial arts in the first place."

"You-You bastard!" Mutski growled. "You won't get away with this!"

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you, Mutski-chan. I've got eyes on your family right now, and they're on standby with orders to kill if and when necessary." When Mutski's eyes widened in horror, Shigeo glared at Kanna. "Same goes with you, Kanna. Can't say the same for you, though, Hazuki and Mina-chan." He looked at his two youngest female cousins, who were both glaring hatefully at him. "Pretty girls like you should be happily married with kids by now, like your Onee-san!"

"That's _exactly_ what I've been trying to tell them!" Daigorou suddenly shouted loudly on impulse, prompting Hazuki and Mina to blush again in embarrassment.

"Shut up, Uncle." Shigeo then looked back down at Sōichirō. "And yes, Your Highness, I have eyes on all nine of your children too. Along with plans for each. Single. _One_."

"SHIGEO, STOP!" Satsuki screamed, stepping forward with her hands raised. "Stop it right now! Look, you want me, right?! This is what this has been all about, right?! Well, here I am! You..." She hesitated. "You can do whatever you want with me." Her voice choked with tears. "J-Just... _please_. Don't harm my f- _family_..."

Shigeo blinked in surprise, caught off-guard for the first time during this whole meeting. But then, he regained his composure and smirked.

"As gratifying as that sounds, Satsuki-chan," he replied, "your feelings are no longer my top priority. I have something else in mind."

"Then..." croaked Sōichirō, "what...the hell...do you want...Shigeo?..."

Shigeo's smirk widened at that exact moment.

"Gregor Klaus Waldfogel."

* * *

Orochi Araki and thousands of other inmates hesitantly stepped past the obliterated fence that lined the perimeter of the prison, and quickly took notice of the prison guards, who were all lying unconscious in heaps and their weapons easily accessible. They then looked towards the street, where about a dozen men armed with tactical gear stood. Leading them was another man, who had piercing hazel eyes and gleaming blond hair that was tied into a ponytail, and was wearing a red suit.

"What the hell is this?" Orochi asked menacingly.

"Your bid at freedom," replied the blond man in a matter-of-fact tone.

 **Johannes Brandt  
First Lieutenant of Gregor Klaus Waldfogel**

"Our bid at freedom?" another inmate asked hesitantly.

"Yes, sir," replied Brandt. "We operate under the flag of the Waldfogel Empire. We are here to liberate you, _all_ of you, from an unjust and inhumane kingdom, and assist you in bringing down said kingdom. But, like all alliances, we cannot assert our power and dominance over the pathetic masses if both parties cannot verify their loyalty and commitment towards each other. So, what do you say? Do you swear your allegiance to the Waldfogel Empire?"

There was no response. Many inmates were looking at one another, unsure of what to do or how to proceed. Finally, Orochi stepped forward and spoke up.

"What's the catch?" he asked.

"There is no catch, only a shot at power and freedom _undreamed_ of." Brandt stretched out his arms to the sides dramatically. "Oh, and also the complete and unreserved expunging of your criminal records, plus immunity from all future crimes as long as they are of benefit to the Waldfogel Empire!"

This immediately drew a united, almost singular roar of agreement from the inmates.

* * *

 **A/N:** And troubles are abound! Will the Sakurada family be able to prevail? Stay tuned!

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	4. Operations

**A/N:** Sorry I'm late, everyone. I was caught up with IRL stuff. But I managed to finish this chapter, so...hooray!

On with the chapter! ENJOY!

 **P.S.:** I'm very excited to learn this anime is getting a dub, which will be out on November 15! I can't wait till it gets out! :D

* * *

 **Operations**

"It is time."

"Are you sure?"

"...It is time."

The elderly, foreign woman observed the lake surrounding the Sakurada castle while seated in her wheelchair. She sighed sadly and closed her eyes, just as a young woman with strawberry-blonde hair and golden eyes, also a foreigner, approached her side and placed a hand on her shoulder in consolation.

"Nana," the young woman said, "are...are you sure about this?"

"Of course, Clara," the old woman replied as she opened her eyes. "I have been watching over her for her entire life. She has grown into a fine, young woman. She is now fit to become queen and reclaim her lost kingdom, her lost _birthright_."

Clara closed her eyes solemnly. "But, Nana...such a revelation would be too much for her to bear... She may try to run away from her responsibility..."

"Yes, that is true." The woman called Nana began moving her wheelchair away from the lakeside, with Clara remaining by her side. "I can definitely understand the life-changing implications of this revelation. But she will eventually learn that it is something she cannot simply run away from. And with the right guidance, she will come to accept this responsibility. After all, it is in her blood."

"But Nana, she would be learning that she isn't what she thought she was. Her whole identity will be skewed! And this sort of truth hits people and it hits people really hard. Like, how do you think I would feel if I realized I'm not your granddaughter?"

"But Clara...we _have_ to do this. The Waldfogel legacy must rise from the ashes and continue on. It cannot go down in history with the stigmata of infamy on its head." The elderly woman looked up at the sky longingly. "I just cannot allow it."

Clara stopped in her tracks. "Are you sure you're doing this for the Waldfogel legacy?" she asked. "Or are you just thinking about Julianne?"

Nana stopped as well. It took her a while to reply, "Yes."

"...You can't keep blaming yourself."

Nana looked over her shoulder, tears appearing in the corners of her aged golden eyes. "Clara... _I'm_ responsible for everything that happened fourteen years ago. I...I should've _known_ that Gregor would continue down that dark path of self-destruction. But he was a brilliant boy with social problems! I-I thought giving him some space was the best idea-"

Clara immediately rejoined her grandmother's side and looked down at her. "Nana," she said slowly but sternly. "You. Cannot. _Blame_ yourself."

"Still..." Nana began moving the wheelchair again. "I promised Julianne. The kingdom, the one that she grew up in and loved dearly, will not fall into ruin." She bit her lower lip. "The stars know the Roses do not give a crap about it! They concern themselves with other matters while the people of the Waldfogel toil in misery and shame! Only a Waldfogel can bring the kingdom back to its former glory."

At that point, the two had reached a silver station wagon parked alongside the curb.

Nana continued, "Only _she_ can bring the kingdom back to its former glory."

"But like I said, Nana," replied Clara, "she won't take the news well. And believe it or not, people take this kind of news more badly than others. Who knows if she'll even accept that kind of responsibility?! Blood or not, she may even run away from all of it! What then?"

Nana's expression softened. "Then...the kingdom falls." She closed her eyes. "And the Waldfogels will never rest in peace."

* * *

Haruka watched Ange closely as she talked to some of their female classmates. Once again, they were complimenting her about her princess-like behavior, while Ange kept denying being a princess, yet somehow convincing everyone despite her blatant lies. He then glanced towards the front door, expecting Akane to burst through it at any moment and attend to whatever needs Ange had for her at that moment.

"Sakurada-kun?"

Haruka looked up and saw a certain classmate approaching him. "Ah, Chair-"

"Ayase."

"Ayase-san."

The black-haired girl nodded approvingly. "Where is Akane-sama?" she asked. "She was not with you and Angelica-san when you both arrived, and now class is about to begin. Will she be absent for today? Because I understand she is to be Angelica-san's, um... _personal assistant_ -"

"Don't worry, Ayase-san," interrupted Haruka. He smiled up at her, triggering a faint blush on her cheeks. "Nee-san will be here shortly. She's just accompanying a friend to her college."

"Well, I do hope she is quick. It would look bad if a Sakurada is late to class for once. Not to mention this could pose a problem for Angelica-san's ability to function."

"Nee-san has her ability. She should be here in no time. In fact, my calculations predict a 65 percent chance she'll be bursting through that door in a few seconds." At that moment, the door to the class burst open, and Haruka smiled proudly. "There we go."

But instead, a team of men clad in tactical gear flooded inside the room.

"ROYAL GUARD!" barked the team leader, startling all of the students in the process, Haruka and Ange included.

"WHOA, WHOA, WHAT IS THIS?!" shrieked Ayase.

However, the men ignored her as they scanned the building and aimed their firearms. Several students screamed and ducked for cover, while a few others simply froze in place, transfixed with fear. Meanwhile, Haruka slowly stood up and raised his hands.

"What's going on?" he asked. He then looked at the team leader. "Captain Sonoda?"

"Classroom clear!" the leader barked, prompting the officers to lower their weapons. He then glared at Haruka. "Captain Sonoda is off-duty. I am Captain Sasaki."

"What is this, Captain Sasaki?"

"We have just received word that you, Misaki-sama, and Angelica-sama were in imminent danger. We are here to take you to safety."

"W-Wait, imminent danger?" Ayase asked, concerned. "Wi-Will this pose a threat to this class as well?"

"If Haruka-sama and Angelica-sama remain here, then yes. We must take both of them to the castle."

"The castle?" Haruka replied, dumbfounded. "But-But protocol mandates that the entire royal family be taken to the Sakura Tree during the occasion of any sort of danger!"

"The Sakura Tree has been compromised, Haruka-sama. Plan B is the castle." Sasaki then gestured to Angelica. "Come on, Princess. We must leave right away. Come, come."

Ange blinked in shock, then slowly sat up and walked down the rows of seats. As she did, she could hear her classmates whispering to each other.

"Wait, did he just call Angelica-san _Princess_?"

"Misaki-sama's in the class next door. There's no way they could've made a mistake with that..."

"It does make sense. She's always acted so proper, like a princess..."

"But why'd she keep her status as royalty a secret from us in the first place?"

Angelica pursed her lips and clutched her hands together nervously. Her cheeks had now become completely florid from embarrassment. It looked like her cover was now exposed to her fellow classmates...and therefore, she failed her father in the objective he had set for her...

"Come on, Princess," Sasaki said as he took Ange's hand, and escorted her and Haruka out of the classroom.

Once the entire team was out in the hallway, Haruka noticed a second team approaching their position, escorting Misaki.

"Haruka-chan!" the pink-haired girl cried. "Wh-What is this?! What's going on?!"

"I don't know!" replied Haruka. "Sasaki-san's not telling me anything either!" Then, he remembered something and turned his gaze towards Sasaki. "Captain! Nee-san- I mean, Akane should be on her way to school. Should we be waiting for her-?"

"We can't just stay here and wait for your onee-san, Haruka-sama," the captain interrupted. "I'm deeply sorry, but our position could be compromised at any moment. Don't worry; there's another team tracking her down." He then pointed his head down the hallway. "Hurry, we must move."

The two groups began marching down the hallway. As they did, the doors to other classrooms began opening and teachers (and sometimes students as well) poked their heads out and curiously watched them as they passed by. Haruka glanced over his shoulder and could see, through a small gap between the officers, Ayase peeking her head out of their classroom door, watching them leave in concern.

 _"Sorry,"_ he mouthed to her. She seemed to notice his message, for she nodded subtly at him.

* * *

"My sincerest apologies for the show back there, Haruka-sama, Misaki-sama, Angelica-sama," Sasaki said, "but this kingdom is facing an unprecedented threat and it is our duty as Royal Guardsmen to verify your individual safety and transport you to a secure location."

Misaki sighed, took a glance out of the window of the armored van he was in, and idly watched as the buildings passed by. Ange was looking down at the floor, mulling over her exposed cover. As for Haruka, he was looking at Sasaki seriously.

"Sasaki-san," the purple-haired boy said, "now that we're here, would you mind telling me what exactly is going on?"

"I believe I told you, Haruka-sama. The royal family is in imminent danger."

"But what kind of danger are we in?" Haruka put more sternness into his voice. "As the second prince of the Sakurada family, I demand a straight answer."

Sasaki hesitated for the briefest moment before replying, "To be honest, Haruka-sama, I barely know what's happening too. All I have to really go on are my orders, and my orders are to bring you, Misaki-sama, and Angelica-sama to the castle."

Haruka blinked in surprise. "But aren't you supposed to be updated about these kinds of things?"

At this point, Sasaki had become visibly irritated. "I said I only have my _orders_ , Haruka-sama. My orders and my orders only. I can't tell you anything else even if I wanted to!" He then shook his head and whispered to himself, "Yeesh. You ask a lot of freaking questions for a prince..."

"I heard that, Sasaki-san."

Sasaki merely remained silent. He bit his lower lip and looked at the other officers sitting inside the van with them, wearing a look of annoyance and disapproval on his face. In response, one of them shook his head as well, while another subtly smirked and a third struggle to hold back a snicker. Haruka noticed all of this unprofessional behavior and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. There was something about these Royal Guardsmen that didn't bode well for him.

 _ **"Oi, Sasaki,"**_ a voice said through a cloud of static. _**"You there? Over."**_

"Ah!" The captain began searching through his pockets in search of his walkie-talkie, even though it was clearly visible on his vest-pocket.

After a couple of minutes of this, Misaki, whose attention was diverted to the captain, sighed in disbelief.

"Sasaki-san?" she asked.

The captain looked up in confusion. "Hm? Yeah?"

Misaki didn't respond, instead pointing towards his vest-pocket. Following the direction of her index finger, he noticed the walkie-talkie.

"Ah! Thank you, Misaki-sama!"

"You're...You're welcome..."

Sasaki pressed a button on the device and spoke into it. "This is Sasaki. What's your status? Over."

 _ **"We have the King and Queen and are on our way to the castle,"**_ the voice replied. _**"Do you have Rose? Over."**_

"Yes, she's with us. We also have Misaki-sama and Haruka-sama with us. Over."

 _ **"Alright. Do what we discussed. And make it quick. We can't afford any setbacks. Is that understood? Over."**_

Sasaki's pupils flitted towards Haruka, Misaki, and Ange. All three noticed the strange glimmer of light in his eyes as he responded, "Understood. Over and out." The captain took away the walkie-talkie and looked at the three teenagers. "Sorry about that."

"Who was that?" asked Haruka.

"My lieutenant," Sasaki replied. "As you overheard, he's with your parents now."

Haruka blinked in confusion. "Wait, your _lieutenant_ is with them?"

"Yes. Why?"

"As a captain of the Royal Guard, isn't it your responsibility to be with my father instead of the lower-ranked lieutenant?"

"It's a, uh, pretty urgent situation. Our orders get mixed up."

"Orders that _you're_ giving..."

Haruka and Sasaki stared each other down, their eyes narrowing in suspicion with the minute. Misaki, Ange, and the guardsmen stared at them apprehensively, unsure of what would happen next. At that moment, Misaki noticed Sasaki's hand resting suspiciously on his pistol. She then looked at Haruka and recognized the emotion present in his normally cool turquoise eyes.

Fear.

"I'm sorry," Ange interjected, apparently oblivious to the tense situation, "but I do not understand. What is going on?"

"Just a little misinterpretation about the duties of ranked officers," replied Sasaki. "I wouldn't worry about it much, Angelica-sama."

Ange sighed and shook her head. "Haruka, just because this man is the Captain of the Royal Guard, it doesn't mean he must be with your father."

"Yes. Angelica-sama is right, Haruka-sama." Sasaki sneered as he continued to stare Haruka down. "The captain is just as concerned about the prince's well-being as he is with the king..."

"I am not so sure," Haruka said. His eyes flitted to the other officers, and he noticed that they too were secretly (and prematurely) readying their weapons. "Why don't we make a stop? I would love to call Father about this disagreement, and I could use something to eat-"

"That won't be necessary. NOW!"

"MISAKI!"

"GO!" Misaki immediately unleashed all seven of her clones, all of which sprang towards one officer each in an attempt to stop them from making a move. However, they were quickly shot and knocked out, one by one, by tranquilizer darts.

Haruka attempted to take advantage of the momentary distraction to open the rear door of the van. But after he shot down one of Misaki's clones, Sasaki whipped out his pistol and fired a shot, which missed Haruka's arm by an inch and stopped the second Sakurada prince in his tracks.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, _Haruka-sama_ ," said Sasaki tauntingly. "I'm pretty sure your calculations turned up a low probability of escape."

"It was a 30 percent chance of successful escape," Haruka replied angrily. "But it certainly wasn't zero."

"Well, I'm afraid 30 percent isn't going to be enough to save you." Then, his pupil flitted towards another direction. "Not with _her_ wounded."

Horrified, Haruka followed the fake captain's gaze and gasped: Misaki was clutching her shoulder as blood trickled through the gaps of her fingers. She had been hit by the bullet fired by Sasaki, which had apparently ricocheted across the metal interior of the van until it hit its unintended target.

"MISAKI!" he cried.

Ange, shocked and terrified by the sudden turn of events, tried to treat Misaki with her ability, but two officers fired darts into both Misaki and Haruka before she could even move. She began trembling in fright as she watched both twins slump downward in their seats, unconscious. She then struggled to turn her gaze towards Sasaki.

"Don't worry, Angelica Rose," Sasaki said calmly as he removed his tactical helmet, revealing a mat of green hair. "The darts' effects are temporary, and poor ole Misaki just has a shoulder wound. It's nothing that cannot be treated with some medicine and the proper knowledge."

"Th-The-Then h-help-" began Ange, speaking in a terrified stutter.

"Help her? Nah, I don't think so." He gazed at Misaki's fallen form. "I wasn't intending on hurting her, but this is excellent nonetheless. Their purpose in our plan is to serve as more bargaining chips. And what better way than to tell King Sakurada that we're dead serious than shooting one of his beloved children?!" Suddenly, he began sniffing at the air. "What the hell is that?"

"I think it's _this_ , boss," another officer replied, pointing the muzzle of his rifle towards the floor under Ange's feet.

The trembling silver-haired princess slowly looked down and realized there was a pool of amber liquid beneath her.

"Disgusting," Sasaki snarled. "I could shoot your pathetic little butt right now, _Princess_ , but consider today your lucky day. After all, you're a vital item for our master plan."

"Wh-Wh-Wha-What m-m-mas-master p-plan?..." Ange stuttered out.

"Oh, you'll see, Angelica-sama." Sasaki sneered widely. "In due time."

* * *

Akane sighed as she landed safely in the front of Royal Sakuraka High School building. She had managed to fly Karen over to her class on time, and now, she was going to watch over Ange and assist her in any way she can at the high school. It was a very peculiar position to be in (and definitely not the most appealing-sounding one), but she knew she had to do it. Ange wasn't going to adjust to the environment of a high school on her own; she needed guidance. The incident where she and Haruka got locked inside the gym supplies room was concrete proof of that.

As she walked towards the school, the redheaded princess felt her cellphone vibrate, and produced it from her shirt pocket.

 _ **"Miss you already. XOXO -Karen"**_

"Oh, Karen," Akane said, smiling and giggling softly. "Sometimes I think you have a crush on me."

"AKANE-SAMA!"

"Huh?..."

The redheaded princess looked up and gasped in surprise when she saw a crowd of students and even schoolteachers flocking towards her, led by none other than Ayase. She became extremely florid, but remained composed long enough to stutter out, "What's going on?!"

"Why are you here, Akane-sama?" asked Ayase, sounding extremely concerned. "Aren't you supposed to be at the castle right now?!"

"Huh? Me, at the castle? No, I don't think I have anything to do there. Why?"

Ayase blinked in surprise, while some of the other students began whispering indiscernible sentences to each other, likely expressing their shock and confusion at what Akane had just said.

"Is-Isn't there some sort of emergency going on with your family right now?" asked Ayase.

"No, there's no emergency at all," Akane replied, her tone becoming quizzical with each word. "I would've known by now..."

Then, dread began to rise in her stomach, and Akane scanned the crowd in search of Haruka, Misaki, and Ange. But...

"They're gone, Akane-sama," Ayase said, realizing what Akane was thinking. "The Royal Guard took them to the castle."

"The Royal Guard?!"

"Yes, the Royal Guard. They shouted their name and stuff when they busted into our classroom. It all looked totally legit."

Akane's heart began to beat faster. There was something fishy about what she was hearing, and she began to fear the worst...

"The captain of the Royal Guard leading the team," the redheaded princess said slowly, trying to stay calm. "What...What did he say his name was?..."

"Sasaki."

"...Sasaki?..."

"Yes, definitely Sasaki."

Akane could feel her heart drop to her stomach. "I...I've met all of the captains of the Royal Guard, Ayase. None of them were named Sasaki..."

Suddenly, the sound of a loud explosion echoed in the distance. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the town's skyline, and they could see it: a small but growing, billowing cloud of dark, thick smoke. This was followed by the sound of distant firecrackers...and people screaming.

"That's a few blocks down!" a student cried.

"Oh, my goodness!" exclaimed another student. "My parents work there!"

"Alright, everyone!" Ayase barked, attracting the attention of the other students. "Remain calm and head back into the school in a calm and orderly fashion. There is no need to panic." As the students nodded and followed her orders, the class chairman turned to Akane. "Akane-sama-"

"Go back with the others, Ayase," interrupted Akane, all traces of her fear and nervousness gone. Her ruby-red eyes were narrowed with determination and conviction. "I'll take care of this."

Before Ayase could respond, Akane already began to glow, and she leaped into the air with superhuman force.

* * *

The streets were in total disarray. Cars were scattered indiscriminately across the asphalt roads and even on the sidewalks, some of them flipped over and others on fire. Storefront windows were shattered, and smoke was emerging from some of them. Citizens were running down the street, screaming and scared out of their wits. A fire hydrant was destroyed, and water was gushing dozens of feet into the air like a natural geyser.

And men wearing prison-issued clothing were wandering aimlessly down the streets, holding an assortment of weapons, some of them firearms and others improvised. Some were vandalizing and looting stores, others were menacing civilians, and even more others were simply firing their guns indiscriminately.

"Gimme your wallet, bitch!" a burly man shouted at a helpless elderly woman. Both were standing in an alleyway, with the old woman too terrified to run. "Come on, let's do this the easy way or the hard way!"

"N-N-No!" stuttered the woman, struggling to compose herself as she held on tight to her purse. "I-I will not bend t-to the likes of you!"

"Alright, Grandma. I guess we're gonna do this the hard way!"

The man raised a clenched fist, preparing to punch the old woman. Suddenly, a younger man charged forward and punched the would-be assailant in his unprotected stomach, causing him to stagger away and gag in pain.

"Get away from her!" the Good Samaritan cried, while the old woman seized her opportunity and began running as fast as her aged legs could carry her. "Picking on a poor old lady like her; do you have no shame?!"

"No, I don't, and I'm damn proud of it!" The would-be robber cracked his neck and rolled up his sleeves, exposing more of his bulging muscles. "And it looks like you've made a _grave_ mistake, kiddo! Because I'm not gonna hold back for jack!"

The man's forehead broke out in a hot sweat, and his eyes widened as the criminal marched towards him, cracking his knuckles menacingly. However, the smaller man couldn't move. Instead, he was rooted to the spot, paralyzed with fear. He was used to doing good things for the sake of altruism, but never did any of his acts get him into an actual fight, let alone one with a size and mass such as his current opponent.

 _"Oh, God,"_ he thought, his eyes bulging out in fear. _"I probably should've run away like the rest. Now I'm gonna get pummeled! Just my luck!"_

"Heh heh heh..." The criminal raised a clenched fist, aiming it for the man's face. "Prepare for the beating of a lifetime, kid!"

"HEY, YOU THERE!" a new voice shouted. "LAWBREAKER!"

"Huh?" The criminal began looking around for the source of the voice, as did the Good Samaritan. "Who the hell said that?"

"UP HERE!"

"Hm? What the?..." The criminal looked up into the sky...and gawked in horror a split-second later.

"PREPARE TO RECEIVE **JUSTICE**! YAGH!"

The criminal tried to run, but the blur of black and red was too fast for him. Before he knew it, he was being smashed into the concrete sidewalk, literally. He yelped out in pain the moment he felt his nose crack, and clutched it as blood already began to leak out.

"Agh! You...You little _bitch_! Y-You freakin' broke my nose!"

The Good Samaritan's lower jaw dropped open in shock and even a little admiration. He shifted his gaze from the cowering, fallen would-be robber to the person who saved him, who turned out to be...

"Akane-sama?!" he exclaimed.

The redheaded princess looked over her shoulder, her twin pigtails whipping around as she did so.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah. I-I am, thanks a lot." The civilian then looked over his shoulder to examine the destruction and chaos. "But you're probably gonna need a lot of help cleaning up all of this mess, Akane-sama..."

"What happened? How'd it start?"

"I'm honestly not sure. All I know is that they came out of nowhere and started trashing stuff. I'm surprised the police haven't showed up yet." The civilian looked back at Akane. "Please, Akane-sama, it's clear the civilians need your help and that of your family! I beg of you, help stop this!"

Akane nodded in determination. "I'll do what I can, uh..."

"Yoshida. Uh, Hiro Yoshida."

"Yoshida-san. But I think I'm gonna need your help, and that of anyone else who'd be interested. I think Haruka and Misaki may have been kidnapped, and I need to get in touch with the rest of my family." She procured her cellphone, only to realize that her battery was conveniently dying. "And my cell battery's about to go out, so I'm gonna need another phone pronto."

"Haruka-sama and Misaki-sama may have been kidnapped?!" Yoshida didn't like the sound of that; he had personally voted for Misaki during the election and did have some respect for Haruka as someone who relied on numbers and statistics. "Count me in! What do you need me to do?"

"First off, you need to restrain him somehow." Akane pointed at the fallen criminal, who was still clutching his nose and whimpering pathetically. "He can't cause anymore trouble while we're looking away."

"You got it, Akane-sama. Whatever you say." Yoshida looked around in search of anything that he could use to tie up the criminal. Then, he came to one rather embarrassing conclusion. "Ummmmm... You think you got enough money to quickly buy me a pair of pants?"

"Why?" Akane asked, oblivious.

"I've only got a belt, and I can't keep my pants on without it."

Akane went red within a second. "W-W-W-W-W-WH-WH-WH-WHA- **WHAT**?!"

"I don't know much of what you're talking about," the criminal said offhandedly, his voice slightly muffled, "but I'm liking where this conversation's going..."

* * *

The black-haired, fair-skinned man narrowed his eyes in disgust as he stared through the windshield of the armored personnel carrier he was in. In his sights was the Sakurada castle, which was nearing by the minute. He adjusted his black tie, grunting uncomfortably in the process.

"Man," he remarked bitterly. "It looks like that castle hasn't changed one damn bit."

 **Shigeo Suzuki  
Tactical Adviser  
**

"You got that right, sir," one of Shigeo's inferiors replied, spitting at the floor right after.

"Tell me something, Your Highness..." Shigeo glanced at Sōichirō, who was sitting inside a cage in the very rear of the vehicle. Also with him were Satsuki, Daigorou, Chieko, Hazuki, Kanna, Mutski, and Mina; and all of the captives were wearing handcuffs. "Have you ever felt the need to give that castle of yours a makeover? Maybe just a little makeover? Because towers and massive gates are _so_ medieval times."

"Oh, so you're now a castle architect?" Sōichirō replied sarcastically, narrowing his eyes bitterly at Shigeo.

Shigeo's eyes narrowed back in response, and he replied, "Ah, so our beloved king now has an affinity for sarcasm. How delightful." Then, he sneered. "But let's see how Our Majesty will be able to hold up once we revive the one and only lord, Emperor Gregor Klaus Waldfogel!"

"To think," Daigorou spat, "I thought you couldn't stoop down to a more deplorable level when you developed your...your _feelings_ towards my Satsuki-chan! But I guess I was mistaken. This is worse than lusting after your own cousin! You're a traitor against your own kingdom!"

"And proud of it, Uncle." All of a sudden, the vehicle came to a stop, causing Shigeo to smile. "And it looks like I'm gonna have another reason to be proud of all that I've accomplished." He procured a set of keys, used them to unlock the cage door, and opened said door. "Get out. It's time to meet your master."

* * *

It didn't take long for Sōichirō, Satsuki, and the Shinonome family to step out of the armored personnel carrier, guided by Shigeo and their other captors. Once they were all out, they were greeted by a startling sight: the doors to the castle exploded open, with all of the guards lying on the ground in heaps, unconscious.

"NO!" Sōichirō roared in outrage, while Satsuki gasped and covered her mouth in shock.

"Oh, _yes_ , Your Majesty..." a voice replied calmly.

Stepping through the destroyed gate, flanked by more men in tactical gear, was a man who had piercing hazel eyes and gleaming blond hair that was tied into a ponytail. He was wearing a red suit, and there seemed to be a pompous and intimidating aura surrounding him. Sōichirō gritted his teeth as he recognized this man.

"Johannes Brandt," the king snarled.

"Sōichirō Sakurada," replied the blond man, grinning pleasantly. "It's a pleasure to meet you again. How long's it been, fifteen years?" He took a deep breath and momentarily closed his eyes, as if reminiscing on a happy memory. "Though...it still felt like yesterday when you defeated my supreme leader and locked him up."

"You're sadly mistaken if you think you can revive Waldfogel. He's been in a coma for all this time. Even if you were somehow successful, there's still the matter of him regaining mental and physical skills. That would take years, given his state! And that would be enough time for us to shut your comeback operation DOWN."

Sōichirō began walking forward, undeterred by all of the weapons that were now pointed at him. "Plus, your little show of force is nothing to me. You may have all these men backing you up, Brandt, but they're no grand army. You know we've been tracking the remnants of Waldfogel's army, the ones that got away, as well as anyone who would sympathize with him and his delusions. It takes a lot of money and resources to hide a massive army and train them at the same time, both of which you have a lack of. I assume most of your lackeys are mercenaries who have a sore spot with my kingdom, while the remainder are anti-royalty wannabes who want their fifteen minutes of fame or..." He looked at Shigeo, who frowned. "Any... _other_ sort of attention."

At this point, Sōichirō's face was inches away from Brandt's, but the latter was looking rather calm.

"Isn't that right?" the king asked.

...

"Heh." Brandt shrugged. "You got me there, Sakurada. You're right, this isn't even close to the army Lord Waldfogel originally had. Quite a brilliant observation right there, I must admit. Still not a far cry from the Sōichirō Sakurada of fifteen years."

"Then why don't you just give it up? Your plan's not foolproof. You're now understaffed, and you have no way of reviving your so-called supreme leader."

At that moment, Brandt began cackling, startling Sōichirō. Once he stopped after a couple of minutes, the blond man sighed in pleasure, and traced his hand across his hair, rubbing it back.

"You're smart, Sakurada," he said, "but you've _always_ rushed your judgment when it came to victory."

Sōichirō's eyes widened; he didn't like the sound of Brandt's voice. It was one of... _confidence_...

"What?..." the king replied.

"Yes, you see, we _do_ have a way to revive Lord Waldfogel." He then stared over everyone's shoulders. "In fact, it's on its way right now."

Sōichirō and the others looked behind them and saw an armored van driving towards them. It swerved around and came to a stop a few feet away from the personnel carrier, with its rear end facing the group. The rear doors opened up a couple of seconds later, and Sōichirō and Satsuki gasped in horror upon seeing the people inside.

"Haruka!" Satsuki screamed. "Misaki!"

"Ange?..." Sōichirō breathed out in shock.

Ange's eyes widened. She was shocked to see Sōichirō and Satsuki there when they should've been at the Shinonome house. As for Haruka and Misaki, they were still lying on the floor of the van, unconscious. Then, the disguised Royal Guard members escorted Ange out of the vehicle, while two carried Haruka and Misaki. The leader marched forward to Shigeo, his rifle slung over his shoulder.

"The operation was successful, sir," he said.

 **Arata Sasaki  
Ground Team Commander**

At that moment, Sōichirō realized why Ange was here.

* * *

 **A/N:** Several members of the Sakurada family have been kidnapped by this renegade group, while Akane is forced to deal with the chaos going on elsewhere in town! What else will happen next?! Stay tuned!

I'd like to thank Resisting the Borg for being the story's first reviewer. Sorry for the fatiguing Chapter 2, but I just wanted to portray the peaceful, ordinary lives of each of the nine Sakurada children before everything started going down under. Don't worry, there will not be another chapter like that again, hopefully.

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	5. Underneath

**A/N:** Holy crud. I nearly forgot about this story. My sincerest apologies for the delay, everyone! My other stories (not to mention darn college) simply took way more precedence. I hope I didn't lose any interested readers!

...I most likely did, though...

Well, on with the long-delayed chapter! ENJOY!

 **P.S.:** I've watched through the entire English dub a while back, and I definitely recommend it. I actually think the English voice actors fit their assigned characters well for the most part.

* * *

 **Underneath**

"There we go! This should keep him restrained until the police get here."

Yoshida stood up and took a glance downward at his handiwork. Tied to the lamppost with his belt was the criminal that he and Akane worked together to subdue, who was now unconscious. His pair of pants were slung over a nearby bench, and he was wearing a new pair of shorts covered in palm tree patterns. Akane was looking down at the ground, her face extremely florid from having to be nearby a man changing his pants.

"That is," Yoshida continued, surveying the destruction around him, " _if_ the police will be able to show up here..." He then held out his cellphone to Akane. "Here you go, Akane-sama. The phone that you requested."

"O-Oh!" Akane stuttered, still embarrassed. "T-T-Th-Thank you s-so much!"

Yoshida sweat-dropped. "There's no need to be so embarrassed, Akane-sama. You were looking away while I was changing the whole time..."

Akane ignored him, grabbed the cellphone, and rapidly dialed a number. "Please answer, please answer, please answer, _please answer_!" she pleaded at the device as the other end continued ringing.

Finally, a voice responded, but it only caused Akane's pinkish skin to pale considerably.

"Hi, you have reached Sōichirō Sakurada. I cannot come to the phone right now because I am busy with my duties as king. Please leave a-"

"Okay, you're up next, Shū-chan!" Akane cried, dialing another number.

"Listen, Akane-sama," Yoshida said, "there's no more criminals on the street. I think we're safe. Look, I'm gonna look around, see if there's anyone we can talk to. We need to get a grasp of the situation."

"Yeah, yeah, go," the redheaded princess replied absentmindedly.

Yoshida obliged and began peeking into storefront windows in search of people. As for Akane, she paced around in worry, waiting for Shū to answer his phone.

To her relief, Shū's voice answered with a nonchalant "Ah, hey Akane-chan. What's up?"

"Shū-chan," she cried, "something's going on in town!"

His voice immediately became serious. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"There's a group of people wreaking havoc in the streets, destroying and looting everything in sight, and I'm not sure if it's widespread, but it looks like it."

"Well, we're in town and there's no trouble here. Are you okay, Akane?"

"Yeah, yeah I am. I just took out one of the rioters, and I'm with a civilian now. We're rounding up any other civilians we can find. But Shū-chan, that's not all! I just heard that Haruka, Misaki, and Ange were kidnapped from school by people posing as Royal Guardsmen, and I think they might be in trouble at the castle!"

"Oh, my God..." Shū didn't speak for a moment. "Did you tell Dad?"

"That's the thing, he's not answering his phone! There's no way he could be busy today-"

Shū's voice sounded a bit strained now. "Okay, Kanade and Hana are with me right now. What about Aoi-oneesan, Hikari, Teru-kun, and Shiori-chan?"

"I don't know; you're the first one I called after Dad." Akane flinched as she heard a brief hail of gunfire sounding in the distance. "Oh my God, Shū-chan, it's really bad here. There's more people causing trouble out there and I don't know what to do! I don't even know what's going on!"

"Okay, just...just do what you're doing right now. Round up any civilians on the street that you can find. See if you can send them over to the nearest train station if it's clear."

"The train station?!"

"Remember that big storm that struck a few years back? Train stations were the safest places for commuters to hide in. Dad said so himself."

"B-But I...I-I don't know if I can-"

"You can do this, Akane," Shū interrupted, his voice unusually stern. Akane couldn't help but note how much his voice sounded like their father's at that very moment. "I know you can. Just remember, this kingdom is looking to you, one of its princesses and beacons of hope, for inspiration and you need to be strong for this kingdom. I'm going to need you to remember that. Do you understand?"

"Okay, okay, I understand... What about you, Shū-chan? What're you gonna do?"

"Don't worry about me, just go, now!"

"Okay, okay! Stay safe, Shū-chan."

"You too, Akane-chan. You'll hear from me soon."

Before Akane could ask for clarification, she heard Shū hang up, and she ended the call in response. Then, she heard several sets of footsteps approaching her position. She quickly looked behind her in alarm, believing it was more criminals ready to attack her. Instead, she saw Yoshida walking up to her accompanied by a small group of civilians, including children.

"I found them taking shelter in some of the stores, Akane-sama," Yoshida said.

"Akane-sama!" an older woman exclaimed. "Oh, thank goodness you're here! We're saved!"

"What should we do, Akane-sama?..." a little girl asked, her usually innocent voice shaking in terror.

Akane scanned all of the civilians, including Yoshida, who were looking back at her with hopeful, expectant expressions on their faces. Normally, she would've been highly embarrassed at being the center of attention, but she remembered what Shū told her. These civilians were no doubt terrified about what was happening, but once they were looking at her, they had this feeling that everything was going to be all right. And she didn't want to betray them on that. She just couldn't. She may not be one for getting attention but she was still royalty and that was never going to change.

So, she did what was natural for her.

"I want everyone to follow me," she said in a commanding tone. "Remember that storm a few years back? Well, we're all going to the train station. It's a very public area, and a perfect place to go to for a high-profile emergency such as this. If you see anyone else hiding, you get them to come along with us. I'll protect you all along the way. We're leaving no one behind under any circumstance. Are there any questions or other concerns anyone needs to share with me?!" When she received none, she turned around and stared down the road ahead with determination. "Come on, let's move out!"

* * *

Inside the family limousine, Shū hung up his phone and looked at Kanade and Hana with a grave expression. Alarmed by this, Kanade asked, "What's wrong, Shū?"

"That was Akane-chan," he replied. "There's a riot going on somewhere else in town. It sounds pretty bad."

"A r-riot?!" Hana exclaimed. "Oh, my God! Why?"

"I don't know. There haven't been any major social problems right now. Akane's fine; she's getting any civilian she can and guiding them to the nearest train station." His grayish-blue eyes then narrowed. "That's not all. Haruka, Misaki, and Ange have been kidnapped, and Akane can't get in touch with Dad."

"WHAT?!" Kanade shouted, horrified. "We-We've gotta find them!"

"Akane thinks they may be at the castle-"

Kanade nodded and looked at the chauffeur. "Driver, take us to the castle immediately!" she ordered.

"No!" Shū cried suddenly, turning towards the chauffeur. "Disregard that order!" When the man nodded, the future king turned his gaze back towards his twin sister. "We don't know what we're dealing with, Kanade-"

"If Akane thinks they're at the castle," interrupted Kanade, "then we have to go in there and find them!"

"I'll repeat myself, we don't know what we're dealing with, Kanade! These people were somehow able to kidnap Haruka, Misaki, and Ange in the middle of the day, and probably Mom and Dad too. That clearly speaks to their professionalism."

"I-I-I agree with Shū-chan!" Hana added. "If they're able to pull all of that off, then who knows what they have in store for us, Kanade-san!"

Kanade gritted her teeth in anger. "Then what do you suggest we do, Shū?! You told Akane she'd be hearing from you soon, so that must mean you have a plan!"

In response, Shū looked back at the chauffeur. "Driver, take us to the Sakurada Family News broadcasting station, immediately."

"Yes, Shū-sama," the man replied. A few moments later, he jerked the steering wheel to the right, and Shū, Kanade, and Hana slightly lurched in the same direction as the limousine to a sharp left turn.

"Sakurada Family News?!" Kanade exclaimed in surprise. "What for?!"

"Whatever this situation is, the public needs to know everything, and what to do to be safe. Wherever Dad is, he doesn't seem to be in any shape to inform the civilians of what's going on. Which leaves..."

"...You..." Hana completed in realization.

"Yeah." Shū blinked and briefly bit his lower lip softly. "Me." Regaining his composure, he looked at Kanade. "Kanade, call Hikari and Teru's schools. Ask them if they're still there, and if they are, tell them to keep them inside the schools at all times. They're not supposed to be outside whatsoever until I say otherwise. And once you're done, create drones and send them out to survey the town. We need a full picture of what's happening out there."

"Got it," the dark-haired princess replied.

As Kanade pulled out her cellphone and began dialing, Shū dialed another number as well, which Hana noticed.

"Who're you calling, Shū-chan?" the blonde, twin-tailed girl asked.

"Aoi," replied Shū. "She needs to know what's happening right away. Hopefully she'll be able to get over to the news station and use her power to calm the rioters down."

"You sure she'll want to do that? I think she's still a bit sensitive about using her power like that..."

"These rioters are looting and causing damage to personal property. Innocent lives are at stake. She'll definitely want to do it." Shū put the phone to his ear, waiting impatiently as the other end continued to ring. "Hopefully she'll answer in time... Come on, Aoi-oneesan, answer..."

* * *

At the front desk of the café where she worked, Aoi let out a sigh of exhaustion. Right now, she was busy serving a variety of orders to several customers, and she had just delivered an entire breakfast to one very irritable and unsatisfied customer. He kept complaining and treating her like trash, so much that she desperately wanted to use her ability on him, even though she knew better than to abuse her power like that. Fortunately, Shidehara stepped in and helped her negotiate with the customer, eventually placating him...for now...

But still, it was very, very, VERY stressful for her. This wasn't her first unruly customer and it was certainly not her last. Then, there was having to juggle between several orders at once, plus all of her school studies, which were plaguing her mind like a leech suckling on a leg. It was moments like these that made her want to cry, and yet she couldn't, because she knew better than to cave in to pressure like this. As a Sakurada, a member of the royal family, she had been constantly taught to never give in to pressure.

But it was definitely a lot of pressure she was dealing with. Life wasn't being fair to her right now, and she knew it. Outside of the customers, there were other times where she wanted to use her ability to her benefit. To convince a teacher to give her top marks to a rushed assignment when the deadline was getting dangerously close. To effortlessly worm her way out of an important student meeting so she could attend to something else that had just as much precedence to her. To get guys to stop following her around and ogling her. Every time, she stopped herself from doing that very thing, knowing it met the criteria of abuse, that it would make her family ashamed of her, that she would be letting herself down after all those years of self-discipline.

But every time, it still sounded so _appealing_ to her, so much that a side of her wanted to take a break from being the good girl and take advantage of what she was given...

"Sakurada!" a voice suddenly called, startling her.

"AGH! _WHAT_?!" the blue-haired princess screamed in stress and frustration. Then, she blushed in embarrassment, realizing her outburst had caught the attention of everyone in the café. "Ah! P-Pa-Pardon me..."

The customers looked at Aoi warily before going back to eating their food or conversing. Once all of the stares were off her, Aoi looked down at the ground sheepishly. As she did, she heard a set of footsteps approaching.

"Oi, Sakurada," Shidehara said, his voice reaching her through a mental fog, "you okay?"

"Huh?" Aoi looked up and stared at her coworker, who was looking back at her with concern. "Oh, yes. I'm okay. I just...had something on my mind, that's all."

"This thing wouldn't have anything to do with your studies, right?"

"Hm? Why do you ask?"

"I've been serving customers since I was a child, Sakurada. I can tell a stressed-out university student like the back of my hand." Shidehara placed a hand of consolation on her shoulder, surprising her. "I'll take the front desk. You can wash all the dishes for the next two hours."

"What, really? Won't your dad get mad?"

"Him?" The black-haired café employee smiled. "He's out sick for the day, and my onii-san is out doing God knows what when he's supposed to be watching the café in his place. So, technically, I'm in charge of the café, and as your boss, I say you do the dishes for the next two hours. You're good with washing dishes, right?" When Aoi nodded in response, he ushered her away from the front desk, saying, "Then go, go, go! Let that soap and water get some stress off your shoulders! I'll take it from here."

Realizing Shidehara really was trying to help her, the blue-haired princess smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Shidehara-san," she replied.

Shidehara smiled back at her. "Ah, don't thank me. Just helping a coworker in need. Now, go, go! I've got this!"

Aoi nodded and left for the café kitchen, not realizing that she left her purse at the front desk. Inside it was her cellphone, which was vibrating.

* * *

Sōichirō grunted as he was lightly shoved forward by Brandt. Looking behind him, he could see Brandt, smirking triumphantly at him. Nearby were Satsuki, the now-conscious Haruka and Misaki, Ange, his trusted adviser Shirou Kusunoki, and his faithful maid Sayuri Sowa, who were all shackled and being guarded by Shigeo and some of his men. Right now, the group was inside the Sakurada castle, while the Shinonome family was still outside, being guarded by more men as additional bargaining chips to use in case their initial plan failed.

Not that they needed this many. Sōichirō briefly glanced at Misaki's shoulder wound, which was now bandaged, and growled quietly.

 _"These bastards are going to pay for hurting my daughter,"_ he thought.

"Now, Your Highness," Brandt said, gloatingly so, "lead us to our supreme leader."

" _Your_ supreme leader," replied Sōichirō angrily. "He is not _my_ leader. The only one who can dictate my life, and that of all my subjects, is me."

"But are you two not dissimilar? You two are monarchs, holding the lives of millions of people in your hands-"

"No. Waldfogel is a _tyrant_ and a wannabe _emperor_. Having control over millions of subjects will not be enough for him. Compared to him, I am just a simple king, satisfied with ruling over a certain area and a certain number of people, like all other royalty. I am _not_ like that insatiable madman."

"Waldfogel is not a madman, Sakurada, he is a visionary. He intends to unite everyone in the world under one flag-"

"Which involves death and misery for anyone who is not him and his staunchest of followers."

Brandt sneered, though his aura read annoyance. "You've got quite the big mouth, Sakurada. Need I remind you who has the advantage here?" On cue, Shigeo and his men raised their guns and aimed them at the Sakuradas, plus Ange, Kusunoki, and Sowa. "I will repeat myself, and I do hope I will not do it twice. Lead us-" He shoved Sōichirō forward. "-to our supreme leader. _Now_."

Sōichirō growled again, louder this time, then reluctantly began walking forward. Brandt's sneer widened, as he realized he had won over the king, and followed Sōichirō closely. Shigeo and the other subordinates nudged their hostages forward, the group following a few feet away from the two men.

"It's very good to see you cooperating, Your Highness," Brandt said. "It's very much appreciated."

"Screw you, Brandt," spat Sakurada in response.

Brandt didn't respond verbally, but he merely chuckled in amusement before lightly nudging Sōichirō forward again. A couple of minutes later, the group entered the throne room, and Brandt surveyed the entire room, looking rather impressed.

"You did wonders with this room," he said. Then, he noticed Sōichirō's throne and frowned in distaste. "But your throne... Man, I was expecting something more grand and flashy, not this diminutive piece of waste..."

"Don't you dare disrespect King Sakurada's throne like that!" roared Kusunoki, moments before being hit in the head by the butt of his captor's rifle. Sowa gasped in concern, but couldn't do anything to help her colleague when her own captor aimed his rifle at her.

"Kusunoki-san," Sakurada said sternly, catching his adviser's attention, "it's okay. There will be no need for you to speak up."

Kusunoki blinked in shock, then growled quietly, angered that his king was surrendering to the likes of these men. However, he heeded Sōichirō's command and remained silent.

Then, Sōichirō approached a section of the wall on the far left. The group watched as the king clutched a small, wall-mounted candle holder and pulled it downward, revealing its true status as a hidden lever. Satsuki, Haruka, and Misaki's eyes widened in shock at this.

"I never knew Dad had that kind of thing in plain sight..." whispered Haruka.

"I didn't know either," replied Satsuki in a low voice.

"How could you not, Mom?" Misaki asked, confused by her mother's reaction. "I thought you were the queen. Surely Dad would've told you about something like this..."

Satsuki closed her eyes. "Apparently I couldn't be trusted with that kind of secret..."

Sensing her tone, Haruka and Misaki looked at each other in worry.

As soon as Sōichirō pulled down the hidden lever, a clanking noise began to echo throughout the air. Moments later, the section of the wall began to open up, revealing a secret passageway. Brandt smirked in satisfaction.

"Ah, a secret passageway, how lovely," he remarked. "This is turning into quite the treasure hunt, eh boys?"

Shigeo and the other men began to snicker jeeringly, while Sōichirō pursed his lips in complete dissatisfaction. Brandt then gestured Sōichirō to move forward, which the king reluctantly did. The two men entered the passageway, followed by the rest of the group. As they ventured inside, they noticed lamps lining both walls in a single row, illuminating the hallway with a dim light.

It took a couple of minutes for the group to enter a small chamber, illuminated by a bright spotlight. However, at the end of the path was a large waterfall, which was making the air of the chamber wet and cold. Brandt, undaunted, turned towards Sōichirō, who was looking at him and his group expectantly.

"Quite the welcoming gift, Sakurada," he said. "But you know this second line of defense isn't gonna fool the likes of us." When the king lowered his head sadly, Brandt continued, "Deactivate the water. I know you know a way how to."

Sōichirō sighed in defeat and slowly approached a section of the wall. He opened up a small hatch, revealing a keyboard. Looking over his shoulder to examine the rest of the group for a moment, he then looked back at the keyboard and typed in a multi-digit code. A mere second later, the waterfall literally parted, revealing that the path continued onward and was leading towards an open doorway, which in turn led into a staircase.

"Very excellent, Sakurada," remarked Brandt. "You have proven yourself to be quite accommodating. Onward, men! Be careful of the slippery floor!"

The group resumed their walk, with both hostages and captors treading slowly and carefully to avoid slipping and falling over. Once they passed the waterfall, they proceeded through the door and down the staircase.

As the group continued downward, the already-dim light in the hallway began to fade. Ange soon became frightened by the growing darkness and clutched the arm of the hostage closest to her, which conveniently happened to be Haruka, who blushed brightly in embarrassment.

"A-A-Ange," he stuttered, "y-you okay?..."

Realizing whose arm she had just held on to, Ange's cheeks became florid as well, but she continued to hold on to Haruka. At this point, the whole situation was scary to her, and she didn't care whose comfort she was seeking. Even if it had to be from the boy who usually had nothing but unbecoming behavior to display, then she would gladly take it. After all, if Haruka was willing to look out for her back at the gym supplies storage room, and at the school swimming pool, then Ange knew he wasn't that completely horrible of a guy.

As for Haruka, the purple-haired boy decided to accept Ange's terrified and clingy demeanor. He even placed a soft hand over hers in an attempt at consolation, though it was more effective in embarrassing the both of them even further.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, Misaki noticed this latest exchange. She pursed her lips in frustration, an action that was closely noticed by Shigeo.

"Hey, girl with the pink hair," he whispered, catching Misaki's attention.

The pink-haired girl looked back at him. "Huh?"

"You're one of Satsuki-chan's children, aren't you?"

Misaki frowned rebelliously. "So what if I am?" she asked.

Shigeo smiled strangely and replied, "Looking at you up close and personal, I can see you've inherited her looks the most, out of all your siblings." He then examined Misaki's hair. "And your hair color is closest to your mother's. Darken it a little and you'd look a lot more like her..."

Satsuki, having just overheard the conversation, glared at Shigeo and bared her clenched teeth.

"Don't you dare talk to my daughter, Shigeo," she snarled.

"Oh?" Shigeo directed his gaze to his cousin. "Why not? She's my beloved niece, after all! I think I deserve the right to know about her-"

"I don't care what happens here, but I will see to it that you never say a single word to any of my children for as long as you breathe."

Shigeo smirked. "Okay, okay, I give..."

However, he gave Misaki one last look, a twinkle present in his eye. Once he looked away, Misaki looked back and forth between Shigeo and her mother, shocked at what she had just heard.

 _"Niece?"_ she thought. _"This horrible man holding us captive...is my...my_ uncle _?!"_

* * *

After a few more minutes of walking, the group entered a room that closely resembled an operating room. However, instead of a surgical table, there was a single bed, which was holding an unconscious body. The bed was encased in a cramped space inside a glass barrier that stood all the way to the ceiling. A couple of inches in front of it was a pedestal boasting a keypad. Brandt's eyes widened in awe as he approached the glass case and looked through it, at the bed's occupant.

Satsuki, Haruka, Misaki, and Ange's eyes widened as they all saw the occupant as well. It was a man with overgrown, unkempt hair that was as gray as bones, with a few noticeable copper-red streaks. His skin was sunken and pallid, with an almost deathly aura around them. His body was mostly wrapped with bandages and draped in a greenish-blue blanket. There was a surgical eyepatch taped over his left eye. There were also several medical tubes protruding from his body and trailing into the life-support machine next to the bed. Clearly, whoever this person was had to have been in this unconscious state for a very long time, and needed to be kept alive through artificial means.

With that said, there was little doubt as to who this man was.

Brandt grinned excitedly as he held out his arms gracefully and breathed out, "Lord Waldfogel... After all these years, we have returned for you..."

"Whoa..." whispered Haruka. "I never knew a place like this was in the castle, containing a person such as him..."

"There's a part of your father that he has never told you before," Satsuki replied, closing her eyes.

"What?!" Haruka and Misaki cried simultaneously in hushed voices.

"Quiet!" barked one of the men, nudging Satsuki forcefully with the butt of his rifle.

Meanwhile, Brandt looked at Sōichirō, who at this point was struggling to keep himself from lashing out.

"You know what to do, _Your Highness_ ," he said mockingly.

Sōichirō pursed his lips and didn't budge an inch for a moment. His fists trembled as he debated in his mind whether he should follow their orders to preserve the well-being of his family and friends, or continue acting as a king and preserve the well-being of his kingdom. However, he took one look at Satsuki, Haruka, Misaki, and Ange, who were all looking back at him, and the king closed his eyes in defeat.

He reached into his pocket and procured his wallet; from it, he pulled out a white card. Sōichirō then approached the keypad and used it to scan the card.

 _ **"Card scan approved,"**_ the monotone voice of a feminine robot said, emanating from a speaker on the keypad. _**"Eye identification, please."**_

Sōichirō sighed and leaned forward, allowing the keypad to scan his left eye. Once it completed the scan and approved his access attempt, the king typed down a seven-digit code. Once he pressed the 'Enter' button, the robotic voice responded again.

 _ **"Password entry approved. Tread well, Your Highness."**_

Suddenly, the glass case started to slowly retract itself into the ceiling. Once it was fully retracted, Brandt was able to literally approach the bedside of Waldfogel, his face flushed with excitement. He ran his fingers over the bandages wrapped around Waldfogel's body, treating it like some priceless historical artifact.

"The time is almost upon us," he said to himself. "Gregor Klaus Waldfogel will be able to rise again and reclaim his rightful title of emperor of this godforsaken world." Then, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. "Bring the girl forward, now."

At that moment, one of the men slung his rifle over his shoulder, grabbed Ange's shoulder, and tried to guide her away from the rest of the group. She squeaked out in fear and tightened her grip on Haruka's arm, much to the dissatisfaction of the captor.

"Really?" the man asked impatiently. "There's no time to be clingy, little girl. Do as we say and no one gets hurt." When Ange refused to let go of Haruka, he reequipped himself with his rifle and aimed it at the purple-haired boy's head. "Unless you want me to put a bullet or two into his pretty little face..."

Ange's eyes widened, at which point Haruka placed a consoling hand on hers.

"It's okay, Ange," he said. "I'll be fine. But I need you to do what they want you to do."

"What?" asked Ange, terrified. "B-But...I-I don't know wh-what they want me t-to do-"

"We want you to revive this man, Angelica-sama," interrupted Brandt, pointing at Waldfogel's unconscious body. "Use your ability to do it. It's plain and simple."

"You have to do it, Ange," Haruka added.

"B-But..." Ange replied. "Wh-What'll happen afterward-?"

"I don't know. My ability can't determine the exact future. But what I do know is that there is a 99.99 percent chance they'll be able to kill all of us if you don't do what they want." Haruka's grip on Ange's hand tightened ever so slightly. "It's okay. Whatever happens next, there's gonna be fighting. I don't have to use my ability to verify that."

Tears began to well up in the corners of the silver-haired princess's eyes. "B-But...I don't wanna fight! F-Fighting is cruel and horrible, and I want no part of it!"

"You have to do this, Ange, but you don't have to directly fight when it comes down to that. I'll protect you."

Ange's eyes widened. "Y-You...You _will_?..."

Haruka nodded determinedly. "Yes. I will protect you, no matter what it takes. I promise. But for now, you're gonna have to do what they say." When Ange remained reluctant at his request, he said more assertively, "I need you to trust me on that and do it. Okay? Can you do that?"

Looking into Haruka's eyes and determining the sincerity in his words, Ange reluctantly nodded. At that moment, the rifle-toting man scoffed.

"How sweet," he remarked dryly before grabbing Ange's shoulder. "Now come on, Princess." He tore her away from Haruka's grasp. "It's time for you to shine."

The man gave Ange to Brandt, who then guided her over to Waldfogel's bedside. The silver-haired princess examined his body closely, and was quick to notice a strange, crown-shaped birthmark on his forehead. However, before she could inspect it further, Brandt spoke up.

"This man has been in a coma for fifteen years due to an overuse of his ability. Hopefully that's all of the information you need. Now, do it. Bring him back to the point of consciousness."

Ange took one last look at Sōichirō, Satsuki, Haruka, Ange, Kusunoki, and Sowa. Once she did, their captors quickly aimed their rifles at them in threatening gestures. When the foreign princess gasped, Haruka smiled softly at her and nodded in approval, signaling to her that it was going to be okay. Though...she didn't see what was okay about reviving a tyrant and therefore endangering the kingdom that had been her home for months...

However, she trusted Haruka's judgment, and he certainly had faith in her using the best of her ability. So, she decided to go for it...

She aimed her palms at Waldfogel's body and activated her ability.

And as everyone watched, transfixed on Ange's every movement, no one noticed Haruka smiling and subtly using his ability to examine the current situation.

* * *

Hikari was unsure of what went wrong. Today started off like any other day: waking up, having to compete with her parents and siblings (not to mention the newcomer Ange) for ownership of the bathrooms, eating breakfast with the family, and going to school. She even got a call from her producer, Kōji Matsuoka, who wanted to discuss scheduling for her next concert. You know, the usual stuff for a thirteen-year-old girl.

But then, that all changed when the alarm of her middle school unexpectedly started to ring. At first, everyone in her class thought it was another emergency drill, but to their surprise, their teacher seemed to know nothing about it. And then, that was when the explosions started, and the principal announced soon after via intercom that this was no drill.

And now, here she was, cowering underneath her desk like everyone else while the blaring continued to hammer at her eardrums. Yet, she and her classmates could still hear the cacophony of screaming and explosions outside. Hikari hoped everyone she knew and loved was alright.

"Hikari-sama!" Chika desperately whispered next to her, catching the second-youngest princess's attention. "Do you know what's going on?!"

"I have absolutely no clue!" Hikari whispered back. "I haven't gotten a call from anyone in my family!" She took out her cellphone and looked at its messages; she didn't see any new ones received within the past few minutes. "Come on, how come none of you are calling or texting me?!"

"I'm scared!" wailed a girl. "I want my mommy!"

"Me too!" a boy cried.

Hikari looked at her classmates, who were all either crying or close to it due to the unfamiliar and frightening situation they were in. The sole exception to this was Chika, who was composing herself rather impressively. As soon as she saw all of her friends in such a horrible state of despair, the young blonde princess's idol instincts kicked in. After all, she couldn't bear to see them scared like this.

"Don't worry, everyone!" she exclaimed, winking and giving them the peace sign. "Everything will be just fine! My family will have this covered in no time!" She gave them all the most optimistic smile she could muster despite her current situation. "Just look towards the light with a bright and wonderful smile!"

All of Hikari's classmates stared at her with expressions of wonder and comfort, while Chika just smiled proudly at her best friend. In her mind, Hikari sighed with relief; she was glad she could calm her classmates down, but how long was that going to last?

All of a sudden, she felt her cellphone vibrate. The young princess looked at it, and her eyes widened in surprise.

 _"I don't recognize the number,"_ she thought, before frowning flatly, _"but I recognize Teru's spelling and writing style anywhere."_

Hikari was about to look at the full text message when the door to her classroom suddenly exploded open...

* * *

Ange let out an exhausted sigh as she lowered her arms, the bright golden light subsiding as she did so. She didn't know how long it took to repair Waldfogel's body and bring it back to its original state. A half-hour? Longer? All she knew was that it was the first time she had to use her ability on a comatose person. She remembered the doctors saying, a while back, that it would be quite an accomplishment for her to do so in a flawless fashion.

But then again, having the lives of her host family and dearest friends threatened was a good motivator for her.

"You did well, Princess," Brandt said. "Guess you're more than just a convenient, decorative doll after all." When Ange frowned bitterly at the remark, he smirked. "Oh, come on, Angelica-sama, this isn't a time for frowns. This is a time for celebration, for the world's rightful master has returned!"

"You bastard..." spat Sōichirō.

"Oh, can it, Sakurada! You're just all sour because you finally lost. Just admit it."

Brandt promptly approached Waldfogel's bedside, while Ange took a couple of steps away from them in apprehension. She looked at Haruka, who was following her movements with a strange face, one that was wrinkled in heavy concentration. She then looked back at Brandt as the blond man bent over and gazed upon his old leader's face, which still had the remaining eyelid closed. However, Brandt wasn't bothered by that, for he continued to smile in anticipation.

"Lord Waldfogel?" he asked casually, as if he was beseeching his supreme leader.

The eyelid suddenly flew open, revealing a blood-red eye that seemed to burn with evil.

* * *

 **A/N:** And all of that trouble in the Sakurada kingdom prevails, with Gregor Klaus Waldfogel making his triumphant return! How will the Sakurada family respond to this threat to their kingdom?! Stay tuned!

I'd like to thank the unsigned reviewer, FlipFlop, for being the story's second reviewer. I'm glad you're enjoying all the action so far, as well as the dark backstory I gave for Satsuki! I'm sorry I couldn't update this in over a year. I will try my best to ensure that never happens again!

Well, hope you enjoyed this overdue chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	6. Rise

**A/N:** "I'm sorry I couldn't update this in over a year. I will try my best to ensure that never happens again!"

Literally, those were my words to an unsigned reviewer who was kind enough to leave a comment on this fic...about nine months ago. Boy, I love hypocrisy and broken promises! Do you?!

Seriously, I sincerely apologize to any and all of you who were interested in this story and were expecting more chapters from me at a better pace since November 2017. I hope I didn't lose any more of you than I should have. I see that since I've posted my last chapter, a rather surprising amount of people reviewed the story, thus officially making this the most-reviewed "Castle Town Dandelion" fic to ever be posted on this site. (Quite an accomplishment, huh?)

And, rather unfortunately, ever since my last update, the manga has occasionally churned out new chapters online that have revealed stunning new information for certain characters and storylines. I have gone through my story and judged that the new information doesn't damage its flow that much, though some characterizations are now a little off. Starting with this chapter, I will try my best to apply the new knowledge in a way that doesn't upset the flow of the story. Given how short the story's intended to be, I don't think doing so will deal a lot of additional damage.

...As long as I update more frequently, that is...

Alright, let's on with this damn elusive chapter! ENJOY!

* * *

 **Rise**

Feeling a sudden bump in the road, Kanade looked away from her high-tech laptop and out of the limousine window. The first thing she saw was the Sakura Family News broadcasting station approaching; it was a simple, unassuming main building with a white-and-red radio tower looming over it. Then, she glanced towards Shū and Hana; the former was still on his cellphone, and his brow was furrowed.

In that moment, he looked just like their father, she realized.

"Did you get in contact with Aoi-oneesan, Shū?" the black-haired princess asked.

"No," he replied, trying his best to hold back his building frustration. He hung up and then started redialing the number. "I'm trying again-"

"This is the tenth time that you've tried, Shū! She must be caught up with work or something! Just give it up-"

"NO!" Shū shouted, cutting Kanade off. "Not when we need her the most!"

Kanade watched as Shū desperately put the phone back to his ear and awaited Aoi's response. She gritted her teeth with anger, unable to bear witness to her twin brother's frustration at being unable to handle the situation effectively. Being responsible for dashing his dreams of playing soccer was one thing, but watching as Shū felt so helpless was an entirely different thing altogether. It was...even worse...

Realizing the air was extremely tense, Hana attempted to shift the conversation elsewhere.

"D-D-Did you f-find anything on your drones, K-Kanade-o-on-oneechan?" she asked.

"We-Well," Kanade replied, her eyelid twitching a little at the honorific as she refocused on her laptop, which displayed a number of live security feeds. "I-It's exactly like what Akane-chan said. There's a number of riots scattered throughout the city. It looks like it was a prison break."

"Pr-Pr-Prison break?!" Hana's skin paled at the memory of her earlier visit at the local prison.

"Yeah. And..." Kanade's eyes narrowed. "They have guns. A variety of them."

"G-G-G- _Guns_?! B-B-B-But I thought g-g-guns w-w-were outlawed in this kingdom!"

"They _are_. This leads me to assume they had outside help for their prison break."

"Outside help?"

Kanade nodded in response. "Whoever helped them get out also provided them with those powerful weapons. This can only mean..." She closed her eyes. "This is more than just a case of public unrest. This is definitely a state-sponsored terrorist attack."

"S-S-State-sp-sp-sponsored?! Wh-Who would hate this kingdom?!"

Kanade opened her eyes. "Just because our father is a just ruler doesn't mean he didn't make any enemies. Families of royalty may interact with each other out of goodwill, but they always prioritize their needs, and those of the kingdoms that they rule. Our family's bound to butt heads with another royal family at one point or another."

"S-S-So you're s-s-saying th-th-this could be the work of a r-r-royal f-f-family?!"

"Hopefully not. This particular M.O. doesn't remind me of anyone, so this is possibly the work of a rogue faction hailing from an overseas kingdom." But the princess's eyes narrowed. "But that still doesn't solve the potential problem of the kingdom itself subtly supporting this group's actions."

"So we could still be fighting another royal family?!" Hana squealed in terror.

Kanade heaved out an annoyed sigh. " _Relax_. Dad's got allies; it's not like we're gonna be marching up to their doorstep all alone." She then stared at Hana, and an ambiguous glint was present in her eyes. "Like it or not, this is also part of a life of royalty. Are you sure you're still up for it... _Hana-oneechan_?"

But before Hana could respond, Shū suddenly snapped, "She's not answering!" He hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Damn it, just my luck!"

"Wh-Wh-What'll we do now?" Hana asked fearfully.

Shū's eyes narrowed with seriousness as he started to come up with his next course of action. At first, it didn't look like he had anything in mind, but when he gazed out of the window and saw the Sakura Family News station approaching, a certain gleam appeared in his blue eyes.

"It doesn't matter if Aoi-oneesan is here or not," he said. "For its own survival, this kingdom, and its populace, needs to be kept in order."

"And how are we going to maintain order if we don't have Aoi-oneesan's power at hand?" asked Kanade.

Shū looked at Kanade with determination. "I need to do what any king would do."

"And that is?"

"Give an inspirational speech."

* * *

"This way, everyone! This way! Hey, hey! No pushing! Don't rush! Remain calm, everyone!"

Floating in the air, Akane coordinated all of the civilians she had gathered towards the train station, all the while making sure no one was breaking off and straying from the group. It had been about fifteen minutes since the start of the riot, and since then, Akane had been able to gather more frightened and confused civilians from the wreckage. But she knew this was only a fraction of those displaced in the city. After she got everyone in the train station, she had to go back into the city and find more people to rescue.

"Akane-sama!" a voice called. Akane looked down and saw Yoshida, the first civilian she saved during the chaos, looking back up at her. "We've got an emergency!"

Akane knew what Yoshida was talking about. A few minutes earlier, they found a woman who fell down a staircase while fleeing and badly broke her hip. There was only one medical student in the group, and she patched up the leg as best as she could, before four other citizens quickly fashioned a makeshift stretcher and used it to carry the injured woman.

The redheaded princess flew over towards the rear of the group, where she found the injured woman on the stretcher. The four civilians carrying her stopped in their tracks and bowed their heads at Akane, which she quickly disregarded, lest she die of embarrassment and ruin the whole operation.

"Is everything alright, ma'am?" she asked.

"Oh, Akane-sama!" the woman exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "You have to find my children! You've gotta!"

"Look, ma'am, I'm sure they're alright. But we need to get you to safety first-"

The woman's eyes widened. "But you need to understand, Akane-sama! They're in the middle and elementary schools! Aren't those in the middle of the city?!"

 _"That's true,"_ Akane thought. Then, her eyes widened in horror upon realizing that Hikari, Teru, and Shiori were most likely still there as well.

"Akane-sama," said one of the men carrying the stretcher, "what do you suggest we do about this?"

Akane narrowed her eyes and shoved her concerns to the back of her head. "I'll take care of it later, I promise," she said in response. "But for now, we need to get all of you to safety first. It is my responsibility to see that through!" Suddenly, she grabbed the woman, stretcher and all, and lifted off into the air. "I'll fly you on ahead!"

"A-A-Are you s-su-sure about that, Ak-Akane-s-sama?!" the woman stuttered. "I'm-I'm not good w-with h-he-heights!"

"Then don't look down, ma'am! And hold on tight! This could be a bumpy ride!"

"Th-Tha-That's what I was afraid of- EEEEEEEEEEK!"

Akane propelled herself through the air, towards the well-covered train station. It stood on the border between the city and the mountainous, forested outskirts. It stood on a terrace that overlooked the outer ring of the city, and there were vending machines and a small restaurant there. Indeed, it was perfect for not only shelter from a storm, but also seeing if enemies were approaching that very position.

"So, ma'am," Akane said, "what's your children's names? That way, I'll know who to call out."

"M-M-My ch-ch-children's names are Ta-Ta-Tamao-chan and M-M-Mio-chan..." the woman stuttered out, struggling not to throw up from the combination of her worst fear and her broken hip. "I-I-I'm Ak-Akiyama..."

"Tamao-chan and Mio-chan." Akane shrugged off the strange familiarity that came with those names. "Alright, I'll look for them, ma'am, but only after everyone gets here safely."

"Thank you _so much_ , Akane-sama- UUUUURK!"

 _"Oh, my God, please kill me,"_ Akane thought in horror as a nasty stench filled the air. She had to hold back the urge to throw up herself, especially after she felt something wet and muddy stain her shirt. _"Kill me now!"_

Once she reached the train station, the redheaded princess was quick to settle the woman down on the platform. Then, she looked over her shoulder, watching as Yoshida and the first of the civilians arrived.

"Is everything alright, Akane-sama?" Yoshida asked.

"Everything's alright, Yoshida-san!" Akane replied. "Everything's going just fine!"

"A-Alright! Wh-What should we do now?"

"Everyone needs to stay here! I'm gonna go back in the city and get anyone else who might be stuck there."

"You're gonna go back?!" one civilian exclaimed in disbelief.

"B-B-But who is go-gonna pr-pr-protect us from the b-ba-bad guys?!" another civilian cried, her entire frame trembling severely.

"It's okay, everyone!" Akane replied. "You should all be far away from harm." She then pointed down at the terrace. "The location of this train station also gives you a perfect view of the city's outer limits. If you see anyone dangerous coming towards you, then just go over those mountains!" The princess pointed up at the mountains. "There's no way the bad guys will have enough mobility to go that high!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Akane-sama?" a third civilian asked. "I don't think a number of us are that fit-"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures!" the redhead interrupted. "But don't worry, everyone! I'll be back soon with more people, and hopefully with tools you can all use to defend yourselves." She then glanced towards the injured woman. "And hopefully medical equipment as well."

"Alright, then," Yoshida replied. "I wish you and your family the best of luck, Akane-sama!"

"Yeah, be safe, Akane-sama!" a woman exclaimed.

Akane stared at the group of citizens in wonder and amazement. Under normal circumstances, this was the point where she would completely break down in utter embarrassment and shame. Even though she carried out her duty and helped guide as many civilians as she could away from the danger, she would still break down. But right now...she didn't. There was a large feeling of responsibility welling up in her heart and soul, larger than normal. It was a feeling that completely overwhelmed her fears.

It was a good feeling...

"Thanks!" Akane replied. "I will!" She then launched herself into the air, hollering as she departed, "I PROMISE I'LL BE BACK FOR YOU ALL!"

The citizens watched their beloved princess soar off into the sky, and their faces had their own expressions of wonder and amazement at their protector. They didn't know how long it would take for Akane to return, or when the situation that befell the kingdom would be resolved, but they knew this.

Akane, and the rest of the royal family, would always be there to protect them all.

...

Yoshida suddenly sniffed at the air, and struggled not to retch.

"What's that smell?" he asked.

* * *

 _"Ohhhhh_ _hhhhh, why'd that woman have to throw up on my shirt?!"_

Akane tried her best to ignore the smell that stained her clothes as she neared Hikari's middle school. But once she got close enough, she gasped in horror and stopped herself in midair.

There were several small fires burning on the grounds of the school, and there was smoke issuing through some of the upper-floor windows.

"Oh, no!" Akane squealed in terror. "HIKARI-CHAN!"

Without a second thought, the redheaded girl soared through one of the open windows. Upon entering, the princess was instantly greeted with a thick fog of smoke that made her eyes sting, as well as water that poured down upon her.

"Hello?!" she called. "Hikari-chan?! Anyone?!" At that moment, the smoke started to fill up her nostrils, and the princess began coughing. "Can anyone hear me?!"

The tip of Akane's foot suddenly made contact with something, and she looked down at the floor. At first, she couldn't see it through the dark, thick smoke, but once her eyesight adjusted itself accordingly, the princess covered her mouth to prevent herself from inhaling a great amount of smoke while gasping.

It was a boy, a student.

"Oh, my goodness!" Akane knelt down and started shaking the boy. "Are you okay?!"

But the boy didn't respond, and Akane concluded that he must've been knocked out by the smoke. The princess then ran across the hallway, keeping track of any windows that weren't open. Then, she ripped off pieces of her sleeves and used them to protect her hands as she started opening the closed windows.

It didn't take her long to get them all open, but the amount of smoke in the hallway was still high. Coughing even more strongly than before, Akane ran over to the boy and dragged his unconscious form towards the closest window, propping it against the wall to ensure he got maximum exposure to clean air.

" _Hello_?!" she called, her eyes extremely teary because of the smoke. "If anyone can hear me, please respond!"

"Ak-Akane-sama?!" a terrified young voice called.

Akane's eyes widened. The voice was coming from the classroom in front of her!

She ran up to the classroom door and called out, "Alright, everyone! If you're near the door, I need you all to step away from it! I'm getting you all out!"

After waiting a couple of seconds, Akane punched the door with a powered-up fist. It flew off its hinges and slammed into the other side of the room with a loud bang. She then ran into the classroom and saw a group of about twenty or so students huddled in a corner with their teacher, coughing and crying.

"It's okay, everyone!" the redhead announced, trying to sound as bold and fearless as possible. "I'm here to help!"

"Akane-sama!" the teacher cried. "Some people set fire to the school! The stairs are blocked with furniture! We-We can't get out-"

"It's okay! I can fly you all out of here!" Akane then looked at the students. "Everyone, line up outside! The windows are all open, and I'll fly you out one by one!"

* * *

In about an hour, Akane was able to safely evacuate all of the teachers and students on the school's upper floor. During that time, those who were evacuated earlier were able to call in firefighters and even fight the remaining flames all by themselves. This allowed everyone in the lower floor to evacuate as well.

"Captain!" Akane cried as she lowered the last student to safety. "How's everyone doing?!"

The head firefighter stepped forward and explained, "It looks like everyone's fine, Akane-sama! We're treating many people here for smoke inhalation, but we don't have any lasting injuries. Fortunately, these were small fires, and the school's fire sprinkler system activated immediately after the smoke was detected. If it didn't, this would've been a whole lot worse. The arsonists made sure that no one would be able to leave the premises."

Akane glanced at the school with worry. "You've got that right, Captain..."

At that moment, she remembered Hikari, and recalled not seeing her at all during the evacuations. She lifted herself a few yards into the air to scan the crowd, but she didn't see the blonde anywhere.

"Hey, everyone!" she cried, catching everyone's attention. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but did anyone see my sister Hikari?! She's a student here!" Then, she also remembered someone else. "Also, is there a student here by the name of Tamao Akiyama?! It's very, very, VERY important that I find both of them as soon as possible!"

"Akane-sama!" a female teacher cried out as she stepped forward. "The people who did this, I saw them leading a whole class outside before the fires started!"

Akane's blood ran cold at those words. "Where'd they go?!"

* * *

Hikari was no stranger to hostage situations.

Now, it wasn't because she had the experience of actually being in a hostage situation. No, not with the kingdom's vast and advanced security camera system that was the bane of her older sister's existence. No, it was because her father allowed her to watch all the cheap thriller movies that would air on TV. She wasn't a big fan of them, but she watched anyway, in order to pass the time while waiting for Shū and/or Teru to turn his back on the remote. As a result, she had the thriller formula all memorized, knowing it'd be useful anyway.

But it surprised her immensely when her captors took her class to an _ice cream shop_ of all things.

"I'll have three scoops of Akane's Soaring Strawberry for this young gentleman right here," a crowbar-wielding man said to the clerk, patting one of Hikari's grinning classmates in the head while he smiled as well (a repulsive smile at that).

"O-O- _Okay_..." the clerk replied nervously, eyeing the rest of the group in the process, namely the armed captors who seemed to have no business buying ice cream for hostages. "Y-Y-You know, th-there's a sale for K-Ka-Kanade's Ch-Cho-Chocolate Chip Bl-Bla-Blast-"

"But I want Akane's Soaring Strawberry!" the boy suddenly exclaimed, looking absolutely affronted by the suggestion.

"What the kid said," the captor added. Then, he lightly slammed his crowbar on the desk counter, startling the clerk. "Do we have a problem with that, _Clerk-sama_?"

"N-N-N-N-No," replied the clerk in an intense stutter. "N-No problem at all! D-Do you want any t-t-toppings t-to go with that?"

"I want Hikari's Bits and Pieces!" the boy cried excitedly.

 _"Does this place_ seriously _have every ice cream flavor and candy toppings named after us...?"_ Hikari thought with a flat look on her face.

"What kind of Bits and Pieces?" the clerk asked. "The flat-"

"I'M NOT FLAT!" Hikari shouted out instinctively, while she groped at her chest.

"Hey!" another captor snapped. "Quiet over there!"

Hikari scowled angrily before noticing something at the corner of her eye: a pile of confiscated cellphones, including her own.

The princess smiled, feeling an idea enter her brain. She turned her head towards Chika. She was sitting with another female classmate, Tamao, as they licked at their ice cream cones. Chika had ordered Teru's Triple Sherbet Smash (much to Hikari's dismay, not to mention annoyance), while Tamao had ordered Shū's Vanilla (which Hikari thought was a very boring name for a very boring guy like her older brother).

"Chika-chan!" Hikari whispered.

"Yes, Hikari-sama?" Chika asked, looking up from her ice cream scoop.

"I need you to have an allergic reaction."

"Huh? But...I'm not allergic to...sherbet."

"Just do it!" Hikari sneaked a look at the pile of phones. "I need to get to my phone and respond to a text that my little brother sent me."

"Alright, alright." Then, the other girl smiled deviously. "But you need to promise me one thing!"

Hikari arched an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"Age me up and get me into Sacchan's concert! Oh, and make sure you give me big boobies!"

...

"Are you _still_ on about my future knockers?"

"Just promise me, Hikari-sama!"

"Fine, fine! I promise, I'll turn you into the sexiest woman alive and get you into Sacchan's concert. Now can we get on with the show already?!"

"Okay, okay! ...Just lemme finish this ice cream first-"

"Chika-chan!"

" _Okay_! Fine." Chika shoved her ice cream cone into Tamao's unoccupied hand. "Hold this."

"Wh-Wha-?" began a surprised Tamao.

Chika abruptly stood up, groped at her throat, and wheezed out dramatically, "Help me! I'm dying! I'm _dying_!"

"You'll get over it," deadpanned one of the other captors.

"I'm serious! I-I think I'm _allergic_ to something in that ice cream! ACK!"

"Whoa, whoa," the clerk replied, his eyes widening. "If so, then First Sakurada Scoop is _not_ liable for this-"

"Help me! Oh!"

Chika collapsed to the floor as dramatically as possible, eliciting a number of gasps from the rest of the class. Even some of the captors jumped out of their chairs in shock.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" one man cried. "I didn't sign up to have a girl freaking die under my watch!"

"Chika-chan!" the teacher screamed, dashing beside the girl and holding her ear to her nose and mouth. As soon as she did, her expression fell flat upon hearing her clear breathing. "Chika-chan, what are you doing?"

Chika sat upward and replied in dismay, "But Hikari-sama told me to!"

The captors' eyes all widened, and they glared at Hikari's direction. They were quick to see the blonde princess retrieving her phone from the pile. She froze, feeling everyone's eyes on her, and she mentally chided Chika for not doing a better job at playing dead.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" demanded one captor.

"Uhhhhh..." Hikari slowly moved her head towards the captors and slowly replied, "Trying to...take a call...?"

One man, who was surprisingly well-dressed compared to the rest of the captors, stepped forward and roughly snatched the phone out of the blonde's hand. After scrolling through the message inbox, he spotted Teru's text and narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar number.

"Who the hell wrote this to you?" he asked.

"No one," Hikari replied quickly.

"Don't lie to me! No one misspells 'trouble' as 'trubbel'!" He shoved the phone screen in front of Hikari's face and angrily demanded, "Who. Sent. You. This. _Text_?!"

"I swear, I don't know who sent that to me! Probably some guy who hasn't had any basic education on spelling-"

"We were kind enough to take you and all your classmates out for ice cream," another man interrupted, his teeth bared in an outraged scowl. "We were kind enough to do this for you, and this is how you repay us, Hikari-sama?!"

Hikari blinked. "So this has all been about me, huh?!"

"No, this is all about promoting First Sakurada Scoop."

"R- _Really_?" the clerk asked, looking a little _grateful_ at this supposed revelation.

The man rolled his eyes in disbelief. "No, dimwit, of course it's about Hikari-sama!"

"Oh... Yes, yes, of course..." The clerk looked down at the desk counter with disappointment.

"Of course it's about me," deadpanned Hikari. "It's _always_ about me, isn't me?"

"Not as much as you'd like, snowflake," the first man replied, sneering. "Now, tell me, Hikari-sama...who sent you this text?" When Hikari refused to respond, he continued in a snarl, "If you don't give me a straight answer in the next ten seconds-" He shoved the teacher aside and grabbed Chika, who squealed in fear. "I'm gonna hurt your little friend!"

"NO!" Hikari screamed. "CHIKA-CHAN!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you will?!" another man exclaimed, looking legitimately disturbed by the threat. "W-Wait a minute, th-that wasn't part of the-"

He was silenced by a malevolent glare from his cohort. "It's part of the deal, and it always has been, whether you like it or not! My people and I arranged for your breakout and promised you freedom and unimaginable riches. Now don't tell me you didn't see this coming from a mile away!"

"Hey, man!" yet another man cried. "I was in prison for robbing a bank by pretending my cane was a gun!"

"And I got thrown into the slammer for starting some small fires!" a fourth man exclaimed, his brown eyes wide. "And not for kicks, I might add, but for insurance! I didn't beat on any kids!"

"Well, too bad, my friends," the first man replied, as he tightened his grip on a struggling Chika. "You're going along with this program, or our leader will have no choice but to exact a greater punishment upon you all. And that's _if_ we win. I'm sure you don't wanna know what your king would do if he found out you were messing with the fifth princess!" When he was met with silence, he smiled with satisfaction. "That's what I thought." He turned his head back towards Hikari. "Now then, where was I-? PWAH! ARGH!"

Unbeknownst to everyone else, Hikari had used her power to age herself up by a couple of years. She had then grabbed an ice-cream cake from a display fridge and thrown it into the leader's face. This allowed Chika to break free from her captor's grip while the man struggled to get the thick icing off his face.

"What the hell?!" another captor exclaimed in surprise. He tried to aim his weapon, a small revolver, but Hikari grabbed another ice-cream cake and threw it at his face as well, stopping him in his tracks.

"HEY!" the clerk cried. "YOU'RE PAYING FOR THOSE!"

"Get her, damn it!" the lead captor snapped as he wiped icing off his eyelids.

Several men tried to tackle Hikari, but she grabbed two cakes this time and threw them on the floor, splattering it with a variety of ice cream, cake batter, and icing. The men stepped on the rapidly melting mixture, slipped, and fell down on the floor with loud thuds.

"YAY!" one of Hikari's female classmates suddenly cried. "ICE CREAM FIGHT!"

"ICE CREAM FIGHT!" announced a male student.

"NO!" the clerk screamed, waving his hands in desperation. "NO! NO ICE CREAM FIGHT!"

But it was too late. The entire class, led by Hikari, Chika, and Tamao, grabbed all of the ice cream they could find and began to throw it and their beloved captors. The men all yelled out and cursed as the frozen foods hit them in the faces and chests. Some tried to move forward and stop the adolescent children, but some of the students also grabbed a wide variety of toppings and threw them on the floor, causing them to slip.

"BAH! YOU **IDIOTS**!" the leader cried. "YOU'RE SLIPPING OVER **CANDY**?!"

Glaring at Hikari, the man tried to attack her, but she had saved the best thing for last. Withdrawing her hand from the display freezer, she triumphantly held a jumbo-sized ice-cream cake in her hand, for her opponent to see. Upon seeing the mountainous dessert, the man froze in his tracks, and his eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Oh, you've gotta be-" he began.

"Your eyes do not deceive you," Hikari interrupted. She then did a fancy twirl before aiming her weapon. "SPOTLIGHT!"

She threw the cake with so much force that it sent the man slamming into the wall, seemingly knocking him out cold. Upon seeing their leader defeated in the most humiliating way possible, the rest of the classroom's captors, still coated in ice cream and icing, chose to flee the ice cream shop. As they did, they spouted off a variety of gibberish.

"I can't believe those kids beat us at ice cream-themed dodgeball!"

"I'll never be looking at ice cream the same way again!"

"Aw man, and I just had this shirt freshly stolen!"

"Oh, goodness, I'll be licking myself for days! Ugh!"

"One thing's for sure, this damn place is getting a two-star review from me!"

Meanwhile, the entire class unleashed a tremendous cheer, relishing in their triumph over their captors. As they cheered, Hikari gave a high-five to a grinning Chika, while the teacher heaved out a heavy sigh of relief. As for the clerk, he burst out in tears, completely devastated by the horrific loss of profitable ice cream.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, the lead captor had quickly recovered from Hikari's cake attack.

"Ohhhhh, I'll show her," he snarled. "I'll show that irritating, attention-seeking, big-breasted bi- OOF!"

A chunk of the wall came crashing down on him, knocking him out for real. The entire class gawked in surprise as Akane flew into the ice cream shop and landed in front of Hikari.

"HIKARI-CHAN!" she squealed. "Oh, thank goodness you're safe!"

"Akane-neechan?!" exclaimed Hikari.

"Where are all of those evil criminals that kidnapped you?!" The redhead looked disturbingly bloodthirsty, not to mention unaware that she had defeated the last of the captors. "Where are they?! I'll teach them a lesson-"

"We already took care of them, Akane-sama," Tamao interrupted flatly.

"They ran away crying like babies!" exclaimed Chika.

...

"Oh. ...G-Good, then."

Akane promptly enveloped the blonde in the tightest hug possible, prompting Hikari to croak out, "Ak-Akane...n-nee-ch-chan? ACK!"

Akane suddenly tightened her hug even more, to the point where the suffocating Hikari was sure her older sister was putting her power into it.

"I'm so, so, SO glad I found you before those thugs did anything to you!" the redheaded princess exclaimed.

"They didn't really do anything to me, Onee-chan," Hikari replied between strangled gags.

"If they did do unimaginable things to you, I would never forgive myself!" Akane started shaking her head. "Never, ever, EVER!"

"But they didn't do anything, Onee-chan, I swear- ACK!"

Akane tightened her hug again for a few brief seconds before finally releasing Hikari from the embrace. As the blonde struggled to catch her breath, Akane looked at the rest of her sister's class next.

"Is everyone else okay?" she asked.

"Yes, Akane-sama!" the students replied all at once. At that moment, Akane saw Tamao and recognized her as one of the girls taking care of the stray cat under the bridge. She immediately assumed this Tamao was the same Tamao that the injured woman mentioned earlier.

"Akane-sama," the teacher said, "they said they were going to take us to the castle when we were all finished here!"

"The castle?" Akane narrowed her eyes in suspicion and thought, _"So Hikari was gonna go to the castle as well. If Misaki, Haruka, and Ange were taken there, just like Ayase said, then that must mean the castle is compromised."_ Her eyes narrowed even more. _"And that means whoever's in charge of this whole operation has to be at the castle as well. After all, what better way to subjugate an entire kingdom than to take down the castle first and set up quarters there?"_

"Akane-neechan," Hikari said upon regaining her breath, "what should we do now? I saw lots of property damage on my way here. It looks bad-"

"Hikari-chan," interrupted Akane, "I want you to lead your class over to the train station to the north. If you find anyone else along the way, take them along. But fight back against anyone who attacks first, alright?"

"O-Okay, b-but why the train station?"

"Remember that storm a while back? That was the safest place to take the townspeople."

"Ohhhhh, I remember!"

But Hikari still looked confused, and Akane knew this. The princess stared at her sister in disbelief.

"Are you sure, Hikari-chan?"

"Of course, I'm sure!" But then, Hikari's smile faltered upon noticing Akane's flat expression. "Actually, I don't..."

"Just trust me, and take them over to the train station!"

"Okay, okay! And what're _you_ gonna do, Akane-neechan?"

Akane looked out of the hole in the wall that she made, her expression turning extremely serious. A soft breeze started to blow against her face, causing her twin pigtails to flutter with the air.

"I'm getting Teru-kun and Shiori-chan," she replied determinedly.

...

"By the way," Akane continued, as a new thought suddenly entered her mind, "why _were_ you guys in this ice cream shop in the first place? It's a pretty weird place for kidnappers to bring their captives to."

"We made them!" a boy exclaimed happily in response.

"Really? You...You _made_ them."

"Pretty much," Hikari deadpanned. "More than a few were complaining so much that the bozos had to bribe all of us with ice cream in exchange for our silence."

Akane blinked with confusion. How in the world did these same people kidnap Ange, Haruka, and Misaki with such cold and ruthless efficiency?! Was there discord among their ranks? Were all of these people hired off the street? Something told the third princess that it was the latter, given how the rioters in the streets were disorganized and impulsive.

...Then why have this complex and multifaceted operation to take over the castle?

* * *

Shiori cowered under the principal's desk with Teru by her side, her tiny body trembling more severely than ever before. Hours ago, she informed Teru of the sakura bonsai plant's ominous warning, and he used his classmate Jiro's phone to relay the warning to Hikari via text. Just as they arrived at school, hoping to take shelter there, the warning came true, and the riots started.

As a result, she and Teru fled to the nearest room for their own protection. That turned out to be the principal's office. Fortunately for them, the woman allowed them to stay inside while she activated an alarm that triggered the school's emergency lockdown procedure. Unfortunately for them, they were all alone, for the principal had to leave in order to find any children who may be stuck in the halls.

Since then, they were forced to listen to the horrible, horrible noises of destruction and screams.

Just then, one of the office windows was shattered, and Shiori cried out in fear. Teru covered his little sister protectively, believing some sort of explosive had been thrown through the window. But when the object came to a stop on the floor, the two children realized it was just a large rock.

"Teru-oniichan," Shiori said, as she held Teru's sleeve tightly, "I'm scared..."

"It's alright, Shiori!" Teru cried, raising a clenched fist. "This is just a trial! A super-difficult one! But as long as you have me around, there's nothing to fear! After all, I have the power to defeat this evil once and for all!"

Shiori blinked with concern. Quite surprisingly, Teru was taking this entire situation in stride, spouting off his usual bold but reckless proclamations...but then again, that was Teru for you. Everything seemed to be a surmountable trial to him, no matter how difficult the situation looked.

But did he really have the power to protect her if it ever came to that...?

Shiori then looked at the rock, and an idea entered her mind. With that, the outline of her body glowed.

 _"Rock-san?"_ she asked.

 _ **"Ugh... Y-Yes, little one...?"**_ the rock replied with an effeminate voice.

 _"Are you okay, Rock-san?"_

 _ **"Yes, I'm fine. I was just resting in my usual place when some jerk picked me up and threw me into this dull and boring cavern."**_

 _"Oh, I'm so sorry, Rock-san."_ Out of sympathy, Shiori crawled forward, retrieved the rock, and then retreated back to her hiding place to rejoin Teru. _"Where'd you come from, and who threw you?"_

 _ **"I'm from across the street, in a small, grassy field. That is, until some person with a torch decided to use me for a little fun. ...You know, you and your friend have to be very careful, little one! It's very, very loud out there. A lot of people are yelling loudly and smashing stuff. I'm not sure if it's safe for you two to remain here."**_

Shiori's eyes narrowed with concern. _"Did you hear anyone saying anything interesting, Rock-san?"_

 _ **"Well...there was this sketchy guy with the person who threw me. He said that they needed to find a prince and princess soon."**_

 _"A princess and princess?"_ Shiori repeated, her eyes widening.

 _ **"Yes. Crazy, isn't it, little one? But of course I'd hear strange things such as that. People have been stepping on me ever since I was born, and they never give me a minute of their time. Such is the life of a rock."**_

 _"I'm very, very sorry to hear that, Rock-san. I promise, I'll make sure you find a place where you won't be stepped on ever again."_

 ** _"Oh, you will? Well, I appreciate that, little one. Thank you."_**

Then, the little girl's eyes narrowed. _"But you heard it right, Rock-san. They're looking for a prince and a princess."_

 _ **"Really? Interesting. How do you know that?"**_

 _"Because my Onii-chan and I are the prince and princess."_

 ** _"_ Really _? Well then, maybe you should get out of here right now, because I don't think this is the best place to hide."_**

"What's going on?" Teru suddenly asked. "What're you and that rock talking about?"

Before Shiori could respond, she and Teru heard the front doors to the elementary school burst open, followed by the sounds of shouting, impacts on the walls, and fighting. Shiori stuffed the rock in her pocket and hid behind Teru again, while an absolutely bestial look appeared in the young boy's eyes.

"It's time," he snarled with anger. "Time for the ultimate fight, the one that'll decide everything!" He then clenched his fist again. "I promised my mother that I would only use this power against evil, and it looks like that evil has now come! The life of this land is on the line, and I must see to it that all is preserved and kept safe!"

 ** _"What in Earth's name is that boy talking about?"_** the rock asked from Shiori's pocket.

 _"He gets like that sometimes,"_ the girl replied. But nevertheless, she was smiling, relieved that she had her older brother to protect her.

Just then, the two heard a particularly loud impact near the office door. Seconds later, there was an intense knocking on the door, shortly followed by louder thumps, indicating someone was slamming themselves against the door in an effort to knock it down. Shiori shrunk further behind her brother, while the outline of his own body started to glow.

"I will not let you hurt my little sister, evil man!" snarled Teru as his pupils quivered. "I will see to it that you suffer for threatening us!"

It didn't take long for the door to be knocked down, but Teru was ready. He charged out from under the principal's desk, issuing a battle cry as he swung his fist forward.

To his horror, however, the person easily dodged his super-powered punch with a surprisingly girlish squeak. Teru tried to land a second punch, but he missed, and his fist collided with the wall instead.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU, EVILDOER!" the young boy roared.

"I'M NOT AN EVILDOER, TERU-KUN! SO STOP PUNCHING!"

...

"Akane-neechan!" Shiori cried happily. The girl scrambled out from underneath the desk and hugged her older sister's legs, even more tightly than ever before.

"Shiori-chan!" Akane cried as well. "I'm so glad you're safe!" She then glared at Teru with outrage. "What's the big deal, Teru-kun! You know you could've killed me with one punch! It's a good thing I used my power to dodge you!"

"I'm deeply, deeply sorry, honored sister!" exclaimed Teru, bowing his head with shame. "You didn't announce yourself, so I thought you were here to do harm!"

"It's okay, Teru-kun; there's no need to apologize. I understand completely. Sorta." She knelt down and patted both Teru and Shiori's heads. "But I'm here because there's something really bad happening in the city, you two!"

"We noticed! What's happening, honored sister? What evil has befallen this kingdom?!"

"I don't know, Teru-kun, but whoever they are, they've kidnapped Misaki, Haruka, and Ange. And they tried to go after Hikari too!"

"Hikari-neesan?" Shiori asked curiously. She found it a bit odd that people would want to go after her naive, air-headed, occasionally obnoxious older sister, but she chose to shrug it off.

"Yeah!" Akane replied. "It's a really good thing I arrived here on time, because people were trying to attack your school too! But fortunately, I took care of them all."

"What do we do now, Akane-neesan?"

"Well, first thing's first, I need you two to help me gather all your friends and classmates and bring them to the train station to the north. If you two find anyone else along the way, take them along. But fight back against anyone who attacks first, alright?"

"Okay, but why the train station, honored sister?!" Teru asked.

"Remember that storm a while back? That was the safest place to take the townspeople."

"Ohhhhh, I remember!"

But Teru looked confused, and Akane knew this. The princess stared at her brother in disbelief.

"Are you sure, Teru-kun?"

"Of course, I'm sure!"

But Teru _still_ looked confused, and Akane had to shrug off the strange sensation of déjà vu that fell over her.

"Are you sure you're sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure I'm sure!" he replied eagerly.

...

"Shiori, you know what to do, right?"

The little girl nodded. "Mm-hm."

"Alright." Akane then stood up and dusted her skirt. "Now, come on, you two! We need to get your whole school outta here!"

* * *

Karen Ayugase crouched under her desk in her royal history classroom, frantically checking her phone every few seconds and wincing every time she heard a loud noise outside. She didn't know how long it had been since her university issued an alarm and advised students to go into lock-down. She didn't know what to do. Then again, barely anyone knew what to do, even the professors, since it was the first time in the school's history that such procedures were activated.

All that she knew she did since the start of the lock-down was looking at her phone, awaiting something, _anything_ that would indicate the crisis had finally ended.

Also, she spent the same duration of time thinking about Akane and her well-being.

Akane.

The easily flustered redhead had no idea about how much of an inspiration she was to her. Every time she looked upon Akane, Karen would see a shining ray of hope and confidence. Akane may have hated being out in public. She may have hated being the center of attention. She may have hated being followed by cameras. In spite of all that, Karen believed, from the bottom of her heart, that Akane was braver and stronger than she thought she was, even without that her brief and admittedly ridiculous tenure as 'Scarlet Bloom'.

After all, she was royalty, for heaven's sake! Staying in that harrowing lifestyle instead of just running away was enough bravery and strength already.

Karen deeply wished she had that kind of bravery and strength. That way, she would be able to protect Akane like how she protected her all those years ago, during that botched burglary at her home. She could still clearly recall that time, as if it had happened yesterday. Sometimes, she could still feel Akane's tiny hand in her own...

 _"If only I had the courage to face this problem head-on,"_ Karen thought. _"That way, maybe Akane could be proud of me, like how I'm proud of her..."_

Just then, Karen heard someone saying, "Psst! Karen! Hey, Karen!"

Karen turned towards the direction of the voice, and saw that it was one of her classmates, who conveniently happened to be her old high-school classmate An Shirogane.

"What is it, An?" Karen replied.

"Did the king say something in the news about the crisis?" the young woman asked.

"No, not yet." Karen checked her phone again. "The king hasn't said anything at all. In fact, the Sakurada Family News channel seems to be down."

"The channel's down?" An blinked with concern. "That's never happened before. This must be really bad..."

"It sure is."

An stared distantly out of the door window. "I hope Akane's alright..." Her gaze hardened with concern. "She's probably somewhere in town, cowering and crying in a corner all by herself. I can't imagine being in her shoes right now-"

"Don't say that!" Karen interrupted with confidence. "Akane's _fine_! She's handled worse than this before!"

An's eyes widened, and she glared at Karen. "No, she hasn't!" she exclaimed loudly.

At that moment, the entire class shushed the brown-haired girl, and the professor poked his head out from underneath his polished wooden desk. There was an irritated look on his face.

"Shirogane-san," he said sternly, "do not speak so loudly!"

"S-Sorry, Inada-san!" An replied in a hushed voice. Once everyone else had their heads turned away from An, she glared at Karen and whispered, "No, she hasn't!"

"Trust me, An," Karen said, "Akane may get easily scared by cameras, but she's not going to stand by while this city and perhaps this whole _kingdom_ falls. She'll do something to resolve the situation, I just know it!"

An blinked slowly. "Aaaaannnnnddddd...what if it becomes too much for her?"

"It won't." Karen clenched one of her fists, while she raised the other over her heart. Her lips curved upward into a very fond and knowing smile. "I know it won't..."

Upon seeing Karen's expression, An smirked teasingly. "I see you still haven't dropped your crush on Akane-"

"I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON AKANE!" the black-haired student squealed loudly, tears of nervousness pouring comically from her eyes.

At that moment, the entire class shushed her, and Professor Inada poked his head out from underneath his desk.

"I told you girls," he said sternly. "Do not speak so loudly!"

"S-Sorry, Inada-san!" Karen replied in a hushed voice. Once everyone else had their heads turned away from her, she glared at An and whispered, "I don't have a crush on Akane, An!"

But An continued to smirk. "Oh, _suuure_ you don't, Karen. You _totally_ didn't have the most intense nosebleed ever when you saw Akane's panties back in high school."

"I-I-I had th-the n-no-nosebleed out of em-em-embarrassment!"

Her friend raised an eyebrow. "Ah, did you now?"

"Look, you weren't even there, so you wouldn't know what _really_ happened back then!"

An shrugged, obviously pretending to admit defeat to her friend. "Well, I guess you're right, Karen. I wasn't there. So I wouldn't really know." Then, her eye twinkled as she winked at Karen. " _But_ -" Karen's heart stopped at that word. "What I _do_ know is your nice little stash of-"

Karen suddenly shot up from under her desk, literally overturning it. Several in the class gasped or squeaked in surprise, while An herself was taken aback by her friend's reaction. She was surprised Karen didn't hurt her back overturning that desk.

 **"FOR THE LAST TIME!"** hollered the black-haired girl, her face now as red as Akane's hair. **"I WAS HOLDING ONTO THOSE FOR A BOYFRIEND!"** Her blush deepened even more as she realized her blunder. **"I-I MEAN, N-NOT A, UH, AN ACTUAL BOYFRIEND, BUT A GUY FRIEND!"**

"AYUGASE-SAN!" Inada snapped, quickly clambering out from his desk and standing up with an outraged expression. "GET BACK UNDER YOUR DESK AND STAY QUIET! THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'LL BE TELLING YOU! WE DON'T WANT ANY CRIMINALS FINDING US, NOW DO WE?!"

Before Karen could have the chance to respond, a door suddenly flew open, despite Inada having locked it hours earlier. Several female students screamed, believing this was the end for them. Inada and some of the male students went into defensive positions, preparing themselves for the fight of their lives. Karen and An remained transfixed to their positions, unsure of what to do in response to this sudden development.

To everyone's immense relief, a lone, unarmed, unafraid woman stepped into the classroom. Then, the relief turned into absolute confusion when none of them could recognize her. She was young, about their age, with strawberry-blonde hair and golden eyes. Without a doubt, she was a foreigner.

"Karen Ayugase?" she called. "Is there a Karen Ayugase in this class?"

"Th-That'll be me..." Karen replied, raising her hand hesitantly.

The woman sighed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness! This is the twelfth classroom I kicked into. It's about time I found you!" She then surveyed the rest of the class. "Oh, uh, you all can come out now, by the way. The threat's over. I'm, uh, I'm not sure why the school officials didn't announce it, but I guess things can be chaotic for one's first actual lock-down procedure-"

Karen could tell the woman was about to descend into a boring ramble, so she interrupted, "I'm sorry, miss, I'm a little confused..."

"Oh! Sorry about that. By all means, fire away the questions!"

"Okay, uh..." Karen took in a breath. "Whoareyouwhat'reyoudoingherewhyareyoulookingformeandcanIgohomenow?"

The woman's eyes suddenly twinkled, and she smiled kindly. "Ahhhhh, but Karen, I _am_ taking you home! After all..."

Karen suddenly felt something, a spark deep within her heart, flickering alive.

"Your kingdom needs you."

* * *

 **A/N:** And this marks the end of this chapter, which happens to be the story's longest to date! Hopefully this is enough to make up for my months-long absence. In the next chapter (which, I assure you, will be coming soon), we'll come back to Haruka, Ange, and Misaki, and how they're going to deal with Waldfogel's revival. Now, this chapter may not be some of my best work, but it's obviously because I came back to this story after so long, and I do hope my writing will greatly improve as I go along with this fic.

Now, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

 **-RightHandofPalpatine:** Oh, so you're reading this, huh? Well, I'm sorry I had to make you wait for yet another long period of time. I hope you're still a dedicated reader!

 **-Eclairia:**

 **1)** Ah, so you're another fan who thinks that this anime is underrated, huh? Glad to see someone who shares the same consensus as me! And I'm glad to have written this fic to satiate your "Castle Town Dandelion" desires!

 **2)** Thanks! I enjoy writing the Sakurada family very much! And as much as I would like to see a second season for this anime, it's actually a good thing this anime has only twelve episodes. That way, I have less material to review in order to get the characterizations all memorized.

 **3)** Oh, they'll handle this grave situation in their own family way! ;)

 **-LRCN:** Welp, sorry if I had to make you wait a while for this chapter. Now, is there anything specific you liked about the fic? Anything you didn't like? Any questions? I need details so I can write a great story for you!

 **-Rachelglitter (guest reviewer):** Thanks! Even if I take a while updating this story, it's great writing these characters. And I fully intend on giving them even more interesting scenes!

 **-northStp:**

 **1)** Thanks! I'm sad that there aren't a lot of fics about this anime, so I'm glad to have taken the initiative to write out a full-fledged fic for it.

 **2)** I agree that this series has so much potential. It's sad that the manga seems to be treating Ange as the protagonist now. I hope this is only temporary and the author can get back to fleshing out the rest of the family and the setting.

 **3)** Well, I definitely am continuing this. Sorry if I had to make you wait for this chapter, though.

 **-Tomosada:** Uhhhhh...I'm not entirely sure if your remarks are meant to be criticism of the fic and/or the anime, so I don't know how to respond to that...

 **-FlipFlop (guest reviewer):**

 **1)** Yes, I just saw that chapter. I don't think that revelation hurts the story much, and I do know how to apply it.

 **2)** Hey, at least I'm still writing! Give me the benefit of the doubt.

 **3)** Well, it's a practice of mine to acknowledge any and all reviewers at the end of my chapter! I think they deserve it.

Well, hope you enjoyed this long-delayed chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


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